Hell's Angels
by MsJimmy
Summary: Revised and back up again. Set after DOBS Azula must find the Avatar again to finish the job. Sokkla
1. Chapter 1

-**Summary- Azula is now the one in trouble with her father, and must find a way to locate the Avatar once more, and finish the job. **

**--Sokkla**

**Disclaimer- I do not own Avatar. **

**Important author notes at the bottom. **

**-Prologue- **

"You lied to me."

She didn't reply but just glared at the floor. She was kneeling, in front of the throne, as her father walked behind her.

"Why? So your brother could come home? Were you trying to protect him," he glared, "you're almost as foolish as your mother."

She remained still.

"It was not Zuko who failed to kill the Avatar."

Her jaw tensed as she continued to glare at the floor.

He stepped in front of her now, stopping. She kept her eyes down and felt her body tense.

"It was you who failed. It was you who took the shot."

She could hear the anger rising in his voice, and knew it was directed at her. He paused for a second, letting the statement of failure sink in.

He took a step to the side as he began to walk behind her once more. "Did you miss again?"

Her eyes snapped up, glaring to the front as her back became rigid. Her hands balled into fists as she replied for the first time, through clenched teeth, "No."

He stopped behind her abruptly, and snapped, "Then why is he still alive?"

She could feel the heat in the throne room rise. The flames in front of her flickered slightly as she glared back down.

"I don't know," she replied almost angrily.

He paused for a moment, then began to walk again. He let the silence fill the air, causing the tension in the room to rise. She continued to look down as he walked in front of her again and towards his own throne. There he sat down, with a tense look directed at the girl kneeling down in front of him.

"Then I suggest you find out," he said dangerously and much quieter than before.

She looked up slowly to see him still looking at her with a dangerous look. No one had to say anything, the message was clear, just through the look in his eyes.

"Yes, Father," she said carefully.

Princess Azula rose slowly, knowing she had been dismissed.

**AN: Yes, this is Hell's Angels again. I'm sorry for those of you who liked the first version, but this is a new and revised story. **

**-IMPORANT- **

**-The timeline is different as this is based after DOBS to incorporate the Sokka and Azula incident and to set up the plot with Azula and Ozai. And yes, the Suki issue will be in this story. **

**- The plot will be very different except for the key scenes from the first HA, which means I'm cutting a lot of unnecessary, shifty points that I thought needed to be fixed or were out of place. **

**--- This IS still Hell's Angels. It is the same story, just set in a different timeline and cleaned up. **

**I hope those of you who read this before, will continue to read this fic, and I am terribly sorry for taking it off.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: As I promised, I am dedicating this first chapter (technically the first chapter) to my good friend Kaibasgirl. **

**Chapter 2**

**Rage**

There was a knock on the door. Ty Lee looked up curiously, then stepped towards the door. She opened it to see Azula, much to her surprise. She was just about to welcome her with a big smile and hello, when she stopped, noticing the frustrated look on her face.

"Azula?" Ty Lee asked curiously.

Without an invite, Azula stepped into the room, then turned to face Ty Lee.

"The Avatar is alive," she told Ty Lee, not hiding her anger.

Ty Lee furrowed her eyebrows as she said, "But I thought the Avatar was dead-"

Azula cut her off, "-I'm not the only liar in my family. Almost seems like Zuko does a deal more."

Ty Lee paused, not knowing what to say. She knew Azula was in a bad mood when she opened the door, but something more was happening, and Azula was not happy about it.

"Zuko?" Ty Lee asked.

"He left," Azula replied tersely.

"He left? When-" Ty Lee tried to ask.

"-It doesn't matter," Azula replied with a tone that clearly said she wished to discuss the matter no further. She turned and looked to the side, as she tensed. Ty Lee frowned, but stopped pushing.

"We need to find the Avatar again," Azula looked back at Ty Lee with a stern look.

Ty Lee was a little surprised as she said, "What about Mai?"

"She's not coming," Azula replied with the same tone she used with the discussion of Zuko. Ty Lee had a feeling Mai's absence had something to do with Zuko, as Azula seemed angry about it.

"Are you coming with me?" Azula asked, almost with a sense of urgency in her voice.

Ty Lee looked down as she felt unsure on the matter. She felt like they had just got home, but Azula was obviously frustrated about something. She had come to Ty Lee, almost demanding that she come along, with more urgency than Ty Lee had seen from Azula before. Something was bothering her, and it wasn't just the present problem.

"I…" Ty Lee hesitated, then looked up at Azula, "… of course."

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Sokka stepped off the flying bison and looked around at their new hiding place, the Western Air Temple. It was oddly structured, with the buildings inside a cliff, but he supposed as an airbender, that wasn't really a problem. He took a few steps towards the stony edge and glanced over. Though he wasn't too fond of heights, especially cliff heights, he had to admit that it wasn't a bad hide out.

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"How are we going to find them?" Ty Lee asked as she looked at Azula. So far, they managed to get airborne in a Fire Nation war balloon.

"By finding my brother," Azula glared ahead of her, mind somewhere else than the conversation at hand, "he's easier to find."

Ty Lee just nodded and looked to the side. She didn't know why exactly Azula was in a bad mood. She usually seemed so confident and at ease. Azula was not one to be tested though, and Ty Lee decided it better not to push her.

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Sokka looked up towards the sky, seeing it dark now with night. He looked back at the gang and frowned for a second, remembering how the invasion had failed. He felt a stab of guilt as it was partly his fault for delaying them. He frowned as he looked off to the side remembering what exactly had happened.

"Sokka?"

Sokka turned, hearing his name.

"Are you listening?" Katara asked him with a frown.

Sokka returned the frown, having no idea what they had been talking about. His mind had been elsewhere, and by the look on Katara's face, it looked like she knew that. She felt bad for her brother, what with Yue and now Suki.

"I'm going to go… check out the area and make sure it's safe…" Sokka said as he stood up. He mostly just wanted to get away. He was no use to their conversation anyway, and he didn't want anyone feeling sorry for him.

Katara frowned but didn't say anything. She knew why he wanted to leave, and she thought it better to just let him.

Sokka walked across the stony ground toward steps leading off to another level. He climbed up the steps and came onto another ground level, much quieter than where he had just come from. He glanced around, then began to walk again. As he walked along the edge, he glanced to the side.

He then took a double take as he thought he saw something dark move by. He stopped and furrowed his eyebrows as he looked again. He didn't see anything, but he knew he had seen something just a moment ago. So he took a few more steps towards the ledge and looked around. He didn't see anything and was just about to leave, when he glanced up, and saw the dark shadowy figure again. It appeared to be a few rooms away, and up a level. He stared for a moment wondering what it was. It couldn't be a person, the shape was too simple, and too big.

As he continued to stare, he saw a much smaller shape move away from the first shadow. He tensed as he knew this shadow was a person. He stood still and watched for a moment, before grabbing his sword from its sheath.

He turned and moved quickly towards a flight of stairs going to the next floor. He ran up the steps then stopped at the top. He flattened himself against the wall and controlled his breathing as he slowly leaned out from the cover of the wall to look at his surroundings. He didn't hear anything and nor did he see anything. He kept still for a moment then hastily moved from the stairs. He crossed the floor quickly and came to a doorway leading onto a sort of balcony. He stopped again and listened.

"But I thought we were coming for the Avatar…" said a bewildered voice.

Sokka tensed and gripped the handle of his sword tightly. He had his suspicions but now he knew that whoever these people were- they were here for them.

"We are, Ty Lee. We're just taking care of a few things first."

Sokka clenched his jaw, knowing whose voice it was. He would recognize that voice anywhere.

Suddenly he heard her footsteps, heading in his direction. He quickly flattened himself against the wall to the side of the door and stood still. He could feel his heartbeat quicken but managed to keep his breathing under control so as not to give himself away.

Then he saw her. She stepped right by him as she walked through the door frame, not knowing he was there. Sokka felt every muscle tense as his eyes widened. He knew who the girl was, and he knew she was the only person that could tell him where Suki was. He gripped his sword tightly, with his jaw clenched in pure anger as he remembered how she had tricked him during the invasion.

With his sword gripped, he took a step forward out of anger. He pulled back his sword and took a fierce lunged towards the princess. At the sound of him, she turned and without hesitation, she side stepped out of the way.

He stumbled and as he did, the Princess took the opportunity to put him off balance with a shove. He fell forward and rolled to his feet with a grunt. He turned quickly and glared at the Princess, sword ready. She had a surprised look on her face, but once she saw his face, it turned to a smirk.

Sokka gave her a fierce look as he lunged forward again, pulling his sword above his head. She lowered herself in a steady position as he brought his sword downward. She quickly stepped forward and crossed her wrists as she caught the hem of the handle of his sword in the cross of her wrists. She used Sokka's split second of hesitancy from blocking him, and threw her knee forward into his gut.

Sokka let out a grunt and began to fall forward, having the breath knocked out of him. The Princess threw her hands off to the side, carrying his sword with them. He heard his sword clatter to the ground a few feet away as he tried to steady himself. Before he could even look to locate his sword, the Princess swung the back of her elbow at him, hitting him in the head.

He fell back and hit the ground with a grunt. With his eyes squeezed shut from the pain, he rolled onto his front, and pushed himself up with a grumble. He opened his eyes, only to find everything a little blurry for a second.

He then looked forward and saw the Princess advancing on him. He quickly reached for his boomerang and threw it forward at her. She stopped and leaned back on her foot, leveling herself into a slant as she avoided the oncoming boomerang. During the time she dodged the shot, Sokka had quickly stood up.

He was just about to look for his sword again when he felt a sharp jab hit him between the shoulder blades. Immediately he felt his whole body go numb as he fell to the floor. He growled in frustration as he remembered the other girl. He had been so fueled with rage, he had completely forgotten there was another girl to watch out for.

He laid still, not having a choice, as he heard the girl giggle. Footsteps began to walk towards him calmly, then stopped a couple feet from where he lay.

"He didn't even see me," Ty Lee laughed as she commented to Azula.

The Princess looked at Ty Lee then back down at Sokka. She paused for a moment, then looked back at Ty Lee as she said, "Get him in the balloon, we're leaving."

She started walking back towards the balloon as Ty Lee furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"But Azula, we just got here. We haven't even found the Avatar yet," Ty Lee said.

"We don't need. We have all that we need," she smirked as she turned to look at Ty Lee.

Ty Lee frowned, confused still. Azula then looked at the boy on the ground, then back at Ty Lee, indicating what she meant. Ty Lee looked at Sokka, still not understanding. She grabbed him by the shirt anyway, and dragged him across the floor towards the balloon. She did as Azula asked, then turned to look at her. Azula was still looking at the boy with a smirk on her face when she noticed the confused look Ty Lee was giving her.

She then said quietly, so the boy wouldn't hear her, "First we need to find out how the Avatar is still alive, then deal with that little problem. And who better to know that than his little friends who are constantly with him," she looked at Sokka again with a smirk. Ty Lee glanced back at the boy, then towards Azula again.

"Do you think he's going to tell you?" Ty Lee asked, not hiding the scrutiny in her voice.

"I'm sure we can… negotiate something," she said loud enough for Sokka to hear.

Sokka glared at the floor, hearing the tone of her voice.

Azula paused for a moment, with a smirk still on her face, then said quietly again, "Besides, with him, the Avatar will come to us. We have the information and the bait, all in one."

Ty Lee raised her eyebrows as she finally understood the situation, letting out a small, "ohh…"

"Now come on, we must leave. I'm sure his friends will notice he's missing soon enough."

**AN: Wow, I hate this chapter so much lol. I know, it's short. I really am planning on having much longer chapters this story around, but I did want to get this posted before the end of the year. And I'm sorry, I know it's choppy in the beginning, but it won't happen again as they aren't in separate places anymore.**

**-- NOTE -- This isn't really too important I guess, but for my purposes and my comfort, I am having Sokka and Azula around the age of 16 or 17. So I guess I'm only adding one year (?), and it's not really that important- not like it's going to come up in the story. But for my purposes of feeling comfortable with what I might write in the future, I want them to be at least 16-17 because it may be rated M in a chapter… **

**Thank for reading, and I hope you will continue to read. Please leave a review, I write for you guys so they encourage me to keep writing. **

**And happy new year! D **


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3  
****Comfort**

She looked over at him, still sitting in the same position as he was before. He had gained some movement back, but being as he was tied up, he was very limited. She watched him for a moment, as he glared at nothing with an intense stare. She looked down, then back at the boy as she took a step towards him.

He continued to glare at the same spot as he saw her approach out of the corner of his eye. It wasn't until she knelt down in front of him, that he directed his attention towards her. He slowly turned his eyes to hers, not even blinking.

She stared for a moment with the same intense look, meaning business.

"I'll give you one chance," she said quietly, "Tell me what I need to know, and I'll let you go before things get worse."

He glared at her as his jaw tensed. He wasn't going to let her threaten him into giving her information, whatever it was she wanted to know. Even though he was sure it wasn't just a threat, he knew there was no chance of letting himself give in.

She watched him as he continued to give her the same look. She paused for a moment, giving him one last chance, then looked to the side, seeing where they were approaching on the balloon.

She then looked back at him with a heated stare before standing up.

"Fine," she said as she turned and walked away from him.

A few moments passed and he felt the balloon land. He heard commotion, then watched as a fire nation solider boarded. He saw Azula give a nod in his direction before the solider turned and walked towards him.

He knelt down in front of him and pulled out a knife. Sokka tensed for a moment, before realizing he was just cutting the ropes between his feet so that he could walk on his own. He then grabbed him by the arm, and yanked him up to his feet. Sokka grunted, but the solider didn't loosen his grip.

He pulled him off the balloon where Sokka saw a few other soldiers waiting. Azula and the other girl were already off the balloon and ahead of them, walking inside what appeared to be a fire nation base of some sort.

Sokka gritted his teeth as he tried to jerk his arm away from the solider. The soldier's grip tightened as he pulled Sokka towards him again. Sokka then planted his feet and tried to use all his body weight to pull to the side away from the man's grip.

The solider stopped and grabbed him with both hands. Sokka continued to pull and began trying to use his feet as leverage. He growled as he felt the piercing grip of more soldiers grab him, trying to restrain him.

Sokka refused to calm down however, and continued his last struggle of freedom. He then felt a sharp hit on the side of his head, by what he would assume later to be the end of a spear. Everything went black as he fell limp in the soldiers' hands.

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The Princess sat with her legs crossed, with an air of authority. She was at the table which had been hastily prepared at her arrival. She looked at Ty Lee as she waited with a tense sense about her, as she kept a calm face.

Ty Lee looked over at Azula, noticing that she was looking at her. She grinned, as she almost always did., but Azula held her expressionless face, not returning the smile.

Ty Lee's smile slowly dropped from her face. She looked down at the table, then back at Azula, who had already turned away to look at something else. Ty Lee stared for a moment as the silence continued on.

"What's wrong?" Ty Lee asked.

Azula looked back at Ty Lee, still with the same expression. "Nothing's wrong," Azula stated.

Ty Lee frowned as she continued, "But you don't exactly seem… happy."

Azula stared for a moment, making Ty Lee feel sheepish.

"Just because I don't leap around with joy like a child, doesn't mean there's something wrong," Azula said with a hint of an edge in her tone.

She stood up and turned away from Ty Lee as she walked around the table. She stopped, with her back turned towards her, and stood waiting.

Ty Lee frowned and paused, not knowing what to say. She had been around Azula long enough to know when something was wrong, but it was very rare she would ever find out why, or even get Azula to admit that something actually was wrong. She never showed any other emotions that would suggest there was an issue. Ty Lee seemed to be one of the very few, if not the only person who could tell when something wasn't right.

"Azula?" Ty Lee asked timidly. She continued to frown, not knowing if she should push it or not.

"What, Ty Lee?" Azula asked without turning towards her. She hid her emotions well, as she had already dropped the edge in her tone.

Ty Lee waited, wanting to be able to see her face before she pressed on. After a moment of silence, Azula turned and looked at Ty Lee, seeing what she wanted. She looked at her again without expression.

"Well, it's just…" Ty Lee started, "you've been like this ever since we left. And your aura-"

"-Ty Lee," Azula cut her off with an annoyed tone.

"Okay, fine. But still…" Ty Lee trailed off.

Azula stared for a moment, then turned away again. Ty Lee stood and walked towards her, stopping at her side.

Ty Lee hesitated and then said timidly, "Last time you were like this, was when-"

Azula cut her off with a sharp look, warning her not to continue. Ty Lee stopped and looked down at the ground, not daring to push the matter.

The door opened, and in stepped a man in fire nation attire, appearing to be someone of military status.

Azula turned towards the man. "General Zhang," she greeted him.

The General bowed before replying, "Princess Azula."

The Princess went right to the point, as she gained her air of authority again. It seemed the conversation with Ty Lee had never even occurred.

"General Zhang, I wish to discuss with you matters of a prisoner I am holding here," Azula started.

General Zhang stood attentively as he replied, "Yes, Princess."

"The prisoner I have brought has very valuable information. Information crucial to this war. Now, I'm going to need this information, preferably as soon as possible," Azula said with a commanding tone, that almost seemed threatening.

"Yes, Princess."

"I will be there during the, shall we call it, questioning."

The general hesitated, "Uh… Princess?"

Azula turned towards the general with a glare. "I need this information general, and I will not have it second hand," she said threateningly.

General Zhang swallowed as he replied one last time, "Yes, Princess"

"You're dismissed," Azula said tersely.

The general gave her a bow, then hastily left the room.

Azula paused for a moment before turning to look at Ty Lee again.

"We've been traveling all night. We should get some rest," Azula said to Ty Lee as she turned and left the room as well.

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Sokka growled as he rolled over onto his back. His head hurt and at the moment, he didn't want to open his eyes. He scrunched his face in pain as he slowly put his hand to the side of his head. He could feel a knot already there as he lightly pressed on it. He hissed as he felt a throbbing jolt, giving himself an even worse headache.

He growled as he pulled himself up in a sitting position. He opened his eyes and blinked a few times before rubbing them. His head was still throbbing from the knot and the combined headache, and now he could barely see because it was so dark.

He squinted as he looked towards a crack of light, finding the location of the door. Brows furrowed as he glared at the light, remembering who exactly put him in here. His fists clenched in anger, partly at himself, and partly at the monster responsible for his current situation. Or was it his fault?

He let out a sigh of frustration at himself for being so stupid. He couldn't believe he let himself become so overcome with emotions that it took her not even a minute to have him tied up.

Looking down, he made an effort to stand up. He pulled his head up and came to a stand only to find a new throbbing pain in his head again. He hissed as he swayed to the side, grabbing his head. He felt his shoulder slide onto a wall, where he let himself slide down to sit. There was no point in standing anyway.

He looked back towards the door with a glare, knowing eventually the monster would come back. He didn't know what would happen, but he knew he wasn't going to make it easy for her.

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Azula lay in bed, unable to sleep. She rolled over onto her side, sighing at how ridiculous it was that she, Princess Azula, was unable to sleep. Of course, there was only one other time she was unable to sleep, that being a factor as well.

Her forehead creased as she closed her eyes tight, tying to block out the memory, becoming angry that she was even thinking of it. She didn't want to think about it, and she didn't want to remember it. It was pointless and stupid. Still, she knew it was what was keeping her awake. She didn't want it to come to that again, and at the moment, the boy was her only chance of it not happening.

She growled as she rolled over again, not wanting to think about it anymore. It was ridiculous. She was the princess of the Fire Nation. Of course she would be able to handle this. After all, she wasn't her brother.

She felt a twinge of anger in her gut as the thought of her brother came up. It was his fault she was even in this situation in the first place. She gave him everything, and he shoved it right back in her face, setting her up for the fall he should have taken.

He was the most honored person in the Fire Nation. He was back home, he was a prince, he had everything he said he wanted. But then he changed his mind, and didn't even think twice about what would happen to her. Or maybe he did.

She clenched her fists, sighing as she rolled her head back, opening her eyes. Of course, she wasn't what anyone would call a model sister. She knew she didn't treat her brother as she probably should have. But she never did anything like what he did to her. He got himself banished. Twice. And then set her up for the same, if not worse possible outcome. She helped him out, when she obviously didn't have to, and now she couldn't sleep. And people wondered why she was so coldhearted.

A sudden knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. Azula sat up, looking towards the door, already knowing who it was at this time of night.

"What Ty Lee?"

The door slowly creaked open as Ty Lee slid in quietly. She held her hand on the open door as she said sheepishly, "I uh… had a bad dream."

Azula rolled her eyes, knowing exactly what she was doing. She knew Ty Lee didn't have a bad dream. She was just using it as an excuse to come in here because she knew that Azula wouldn't be sleeping. She always did this when she knew something was bothering her. Of course Azula would never admit it, but she was kind of grateful that Ty Lee would come to comfort her. Azula never would ever tell Ty Lee what was wrong, or even that anything was wrong. Her friend knew her too well though, and saved her the pain from admitting, and instead using the excuse of a nightmare just so Azula would have some company. Ty Lee had been doing this since they were children, and even though they were older, it still offered the same comfort.

Azula sighed, knowing Ty Lee was lying. Ty Lee of course knew that Azula already knew this, but it was a mutual understanding, that they would pretend this to be the situation.

"Alright," Azula murmured.

Ty Lee instantly smiled, and in second, closed the door and hopped in bed beside Azula.

Azula laid back down as Ty Lee crawled under the blanket and scooted closer.

"Ty Lee," Azula said without looking at her.

"Yeah?" Ty Lee asked innocently.

"Don't you think we're a little too old for this?"

Ty Lee paused for a moment before saying quietly, "No… I mean, I'm always going to have," she paused for a split second as she said with a different meaning in mind, "nightmares."

Azula didn't say anything. She knew what Ty Lee meant. She wasn't getting rid of her that easily, she was always going to be there when something was bothering her. Azula never understood why Ty Lee did these things, but she was glad she did, though she would never admit it, nor show it. Ty Lee understood that though, which was probably why Ty Lee did do these sort of things.

"It doesn't still hurt, does it?" Ty Lee whispered.

Azula paused for a moment, knowing where Ty Lee was and knowing what she was talking about. It was part of the reason why her and Ty Lee had that sort of understanding.

"No," Azula said quietly, finally acknowledging the topic that both her and Ty Lee avoided at her expense.

That being said, Ty Lee laid her head on Azula's right shoulder, not saying anything else. Azula sighed quietly as she closed her eyes. Somehow, Ty Lee being there had always helped her calm down and fall asleep. There was just that one bond that they had from that one night that always brought Azula a sort of comfort that she never had from anyone else.

**AN: And I think I'll stop this chapter here… I was planning on going further, but seeing as how it's been 3 months. Anyway, this is actually an important chapter, for Azula.  
****There will be a few very very interesting plot twists in this story, and a lot of this chapter hints at one of them. If you can figure this one out, then kudos to you.  
****I know this chapter is mostly focused on Ty Lee and Azula. I wanted to establish that friendship here, and show that Azula is capable of having a sort of friendship, as I think that's going to be crucial for my later character development for both Sokka and Azula. **

**Reviews would very much be appreciated, and I thank you for reading. I'm extremely sorry I'm such a slow writer, and I hope my readers will continue to follow this story. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**The Serpent **

The door opened and in stepped a guard, and then another. Sokka turned his head, looking up at the guards with a glare. He tensed, standing up with his body facing the intruders in a defensive manner.

Then stepped in Azula. Immediately an air of self importance was established in the room, and rightly so. She took a few simple steps into the room, never once taking her eyes off Sokka, making him feel cornered already. She seemed to see right through him, and gave him the chills, making him hate her all the more. She stepped with a light grace, though with a firm precision, pointing out the confidence and mere power she held over everyone in that room. Just in the few seconds that it took for her to enter, she already established her authority.

Sokka returned the stare, never pulling his eyes from hers, though not so much out of choice. He felt so trapped by her stare, by the simple threat it imposed upon him. It was neither angry, nor hateful, it was simply a strong stare, which in comparison was much worse. He could never know what she was thinking, and that was more of a threat to him than anything else. He did not trust her, causing him to never turn his eyes away from hers. Much like a beautiful serpent, with a strong, grace-like quality, though never once ceasing to be a dangerous threat, she entranced him with her golden eyes, holding him still where he was.

The door closed behind her and she held the silence.

Sokka clenched his fists, still glaring at her with reproach. He wasn't sure what to do, but he knew hers was the first move to make.

She paused for a moment, continuing to hold the silent tension just to acknowledge the complete control she had over the situation. "I'm sure you know why I'm here," she said calmly.

Sokka remained still, continuing to become more tense.

She smirked as she received no reply. "This is your chance now to tell me what I want to know," she said.

Sokka gave her a fierce look as he answered with scorn in his voice, "I would die before I ever told you anything."

She gave him a look almost of amusement before she said with an edge on her tone, "There are things much worse than death. Death is simply an escape for the weak."

Her tone then changed, "But don't worry, you won't die," she then gave him a dangerous smirk, "I promise you that much."

Sokka stood still, not giving her a reaction as to what he was thinking. He knew he wouldn't betray his sister or Aang, but it still didn't make it any easier.

She turned towards the guards, with a slight nod, giving them a silent command. The guards turned towards Sokka and took a few steps, filling the gap. Sokka tensed, wanting to fight back, but he knew it was useless to try in this cell. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth as he felt the piercing grip of the guards' hands on either side, though never once did his eyes leave Azula's.

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Azula stepped into the cell where Sokka was held once again. She glared at the boy with frustration as he glared back at her. It had been three days, and he had said nothing that would aid her in her fight against the avatar. She had watched time and again as he struggled through the pain her guards had put him through, but he remained silent. She could see the blood stained smears across his face and his torn, broken body, but he still remained strong. Though Azula was beyond anger at his fight, she couldn't help but admire the strength he held against her.

The guards walked past her, knowing already what they were suppose to do. Sokka stood, still giving Azula the glare despite the fact that the guards were the ones approaching. Azula watched him with a strong curiosity as once again the guards gripped his arms on either side, hindering him from movement. He had a strong determination that went with his stubbornness to not reveal any information to her. She had thought she would eventually get through to him, but his strength had only surprised her, causing her to realize his will was just as great as hers.

One of the guards suddenly grabbed Sokka's head by a handful of hair, then shoved it forward with such a jerking motion that Sokka fell to his knees, hissing in pain. The guard held his grip, causing Sokka to wince while gritting his teeth. The man shoved Sokka's head even farther, while still holding on to his hair, making the effect even more painful.

Azula then stepped towards Sokka for the first time in three days. The guard looked at Azula, and as she approached, she gave him a demanding look. The guard jerked Sokka's head back with the grip he held, causing Sokka to have to look up at Azula with no other alternative.

Azula stood above the boy, looking down at him with reproach, just as he did to her. She leaned in a little closer to his face becoming all the more intimidating.

"Tell me," she said quietly, her voice full of anger.

Sokka glared for a moment, then realized that she was not her normal smug, haughty self. She no longer spoke to him with the air of confidence she held before. She was angry, and frustrated. She wasn't getting what she wanted. She wasn't getting what she needed, and it was creating a sense of careless urgency in her as she became more thwarted by his lack of submission.

Sokka glared back, with even more anger directed at her. "Look's like someone is in trouble now," he said with a malicious, mocking tone.

He could immediately tell by the furious look in her eyes by his comment that he was indeed right. She became so angered by his comment, because she knew he was getting the best of her. He knew it, and she knew it. He was winning.

She felt a sudden chill run through her as the anger at him burst through. She struck her hand forward with such swiftness, that Sokka didn't even have the time to flinch before his throat was caught in her grip.

"I suggest you tell me," she said quite threateningly.

Sokka glared back at her while struggling against her grip around his throat. He growled back, "Why should I? Just so you don't get in trouble with your precious father?

He felt her tense and he knew he struck a nerve. He glared back as he pushed even farther, "I'm not going to tell you anything. You're just going to have to tell your father how you failed to do what he ordered you to-"

She cut him off as she felt herself lose control of her anger. She gripped him so tightly, and shoved him with such ferocity that the guard had no choice but to let go as Sokka fell back against the stone wall. He scrunched his eyes in pain as the breath left him from the force she hit him against the wall with.

She glared at him with a furious look in her eyes, her face merely inches away. Sokka opened his eyes, his face contorted with a mixture of rage and pain. He knew he had made her angry and now he almost regretted it from the fierceness of her anger.

She still held him by the throat, which now felt to him from the jerk as if it was ripped. She loosened her grip slightly as she said with a sharp whisper, "At least I'm of some use to my father."

Sokka glared back with a fury he hadn't had before. He already felt guilty enough from the battle and letting his father stay to be a captive of the Fire Nation. He knew he had let his father down. He gritted his teeth, his eyes returning the same heated stare as hers.

She paused for a moment, then released her grip. With her last comment still in the air, she turned sharply and walked towards the door. She left the cell, the guards following her lead.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You asked to see me, Princess?" The General approached the princess, meeting her at her request in the same room where he had met her the first night.

Azula turned to look at the General, still tense with frustration and anger at the boy. The General paused, feeling the tension.

"The boy isn't talking," Azula said tersely.

"I assure you he will. With just a bit more time-"

Azula cut him off as her temper rose once again, "- I don't have time. I need this information now."

She turned away from the General, thinking of how vital it was she obtained this information. She clenched her fists in a rage as she thought of the boy, and she knew from the day's encounter that he was too strong to submit to her will through torture. She didn't have the time to keep trying, the boy just wasn't going to give up.

But neither was she.

She turned back towards the General with a much different expression on her face. Her mood changed so quickly that the General couldn't help but be a little alarmed.

"We're going to have to go about this a different way," she said calmly to the General. She knew already that he wasn't going to talk with what she was doing now. But Azula was extremely cunning, and extremely good at getting what she wanted.

"Princess?" The General asked.

"Isolation. The boy will not see or hear anyone until I say," The Princess stood after making her order. She looked at the General with an expectant glare.

"Yes Princess," The General bowed.

The Princess smirked, then walked past the general, her new plan already in her head. She knew the boy was clever, but he was no match for her manipulative ways. One way or another, she was going to get what she wanted.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sokka glared at the stone floor. He had no idea how long it had been since he had last seen anyone. The last time he saw someone was when he had angered Azula. He knew it couldn't have been too long, but it still confused him. He didn't understand how after their encounter, she had just left him alone.

He didn't know what was going on. He didn't even know if Azula was still in the building. He couldn't help but worry that maybe she didn't need him anymore. Maybe she had found out what she needed to know.

He growled in frustration as he didn't even want to consider it. How could she know? There was no way she could. Unless she had captured someone else from the group.

Sokka tensed at the thought and felt his insides go cold. He knew his friends would be looking for them. Maybe Azula had got a hold of someone else. Even though he trusted them not to say anything either, it still had him worried that there was a possibility that she might have one of them, or maybe even the Avatar himself.

Sokka clenched his fists nervously as the many possibilities went through his head. He didn't want to think and it made him extremely worried. He just didn't understand why she would all of sudden leave him alone after she was so determined to get the information out of him.

If the isolated thoughts were bad enough, Sokka was also extremely hungry and thirsty. He had not seen or heard anyone since he had last seen Azula, meaning he received no food or water. He wondered for a moment if they had forgotten about him, but he knew from their last meeting that Azula would not forget him.

He shook as his body weakened and as the thoughts continued. He needed to know what was going on. He wasn't sure how much longer he could take, not knowing if his friends were safe. He laid his head back against the wall, and felt himself drift off into sleep, with his thoughts trailing his dreams.

He suddenly woke with a start as he heard the door to his cell open. For a moment he wasn't sure if he was still dreaming or not. It simply seemed so unreal, after being kept alone for so long.

After a moment, Sokka stood shakily to his feet, sliding up the wall as he did so. The guard stared at him for a moment, before moving into the cell.

The guard grabbed him and pulled him along with him, out of the cell. Sokka stumbled next to the guard, completely surprised and confused about the whole situation. The guard took him up a flight of stares, leading out of the hall where his cell was located. They turned down the hall where the guard took him into another room.

Sokka's eyes widened as he saw it was a real room, and not a cell. The guard let go, and Sokka turned to look at him.

"Clean up and get dressed, someone will be back to escort you soon."

Sokka stared back at the guard, not quite sure that he could be talking to him. Did he not realize he was a prisoner?

The guard turned to leave. Sokka stepped forward and said hoarsely, "What's going on? Escort me where?"

The guard stopped and turned towards Sokka with a look as if he didn't understand him. He stared at Sokka for a moment, and then once he was sure that Sokka honestly didn't know what was going on, he said, "To meet the Princess of course. She has requested your presence for dinner."

Sokka choked as he tried to understand what the guard had just said.

"What?" Sokka asked, completely dumbfounded.

"Someone will be here to escort you shortly," and with that the guard turned and left Sokka alone.

Sokka stood frozen where he was. He was sure he had heard the guard say Azula requested his presence for dinner, but it couldn't be. He turned, so completely confused that he was worried. Hadn't he made her extremely angry the last time he had seen her? For her to invite him to dinner did not make the least bit of sense. Sokka turned again and saw a fresh pair of clothes folded on a chair, obviously for him.

He growled in frustration, having no clue what was going on. He stepped towards the clothes however, and grabbed the shirt. It didn't seem he had a choice in the matter.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Azula sat in the dining chamber, with her legs crossed. She looked across the room towards the door where the boy would soon come through. She smirked as she lifted her hand delicately in front of her face, examining her nails, waiting for the boy.

**AN: Again, I'm sorry my updates take so long and that my chapters are short. I hope you'll continue to read. **

**And in case anyone was wondering, no one has yet to guess the upcoming twists. **

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Reviews would very much be appreciated, and thank you for reading. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Dinner with the Princess**

Sokka stepped into the dining chamber as the guard shut the door behind him, leaving him alone in the room with Azula. He stared across the room, standing still where he was.

Azula stared back at the boy, noticing how much better he looked. He had cleaned up and shaven, which had done much to clear up his looks. He still had cuts and bruises, but without the dirt and blood covering his face, he looked stronger. He had been given Fire Nation clothes of noble quality, and Azula couldn't help but be impressed with how he looked in them.

She smirked as he continued to stand still where he was, obviously hesitant and unsure of the situation.

"Well, sit down," Azula said lightly.

Sokka paused, completely bewildered by what was happening. He stepped forward and sat down across from the Princess, still watching her carefully.

She smirked as she continued to watch him. "Hungry?" She asked.

Sokka didn't answer as he remained still. She was acting entirely too welcome for anything to make sense.

She held her smirk as she said, "Go ahead, eat."

Sokka stared back at her, not making any movements towards eating. He didn't trust her.

She watched him for a moment, knowing he wouldn't take the food. She looked down at the table, then carefully pulled a grape from the food that had been placed there. She looked back up at him as she ate the grape, knowing he would eventually give in.

Sokka stared at the grape, feeling his stomach beg for food. He knew she was just mocking him, for she had to know how hungry he was. He felt himself tense as he struggled between what his mind was telling him and what his body needed.

"How do the clothes fit?" She said with a hallow tone.

Sokka looked away from the food and at the Princess. He furrowed his eyebrows wondering if this conversation was really happening.

"What?" He asked.

"The clothes," she repeated.

He paused for a moment before answering awkwardly, "Oh-uh… They fit fine…" He looked down at his clothes as he spoke of them. He had to admit, though they were Fire Nation clothes, they were extremely comfortable. Part of it due to the fact that people in the Fire Nation needn't worry about the cold.

He looked back up at the Princess to see her watching him. He tensed again, not sure what to expect from her. She held no expression as she continued to watch him, making sure not to give him even the slightest hint as to what she was thinking.

He glared at her, feeling uneasy from her curious attitude towards him. He looked back down towards the food, deciding not the fight the urge any longer. He needed food anyway from being in that cell for so long. He began to eat, trying his best to ignore the Princess's unusual manner.

He focused on the food, and after a few moments he felt full. He looked back up at the Princess to see her still watching him. He was just about to look back down when he caught a glimpse of a smirk in the Princess's face. He furrowed his eyebrows and stared at the Princess, who for a moment continued to watch him with an expressionless face. She stared back at him making full eye contact. She then made no other movement aside from an unmistakable smirk, still remaining completely composed and in full control.

Sokka tensed as she continued to smirk at him. He suddenly came to the realization that she was now smirking at him after he had eaten the food. He quickly looked down at the food, and just as he did he heard her laugh.

He clenched his hands into fists as he stood up hastily. He looked across the room at her with a glare. His eyes wide, he felt his body shake with tension as the thought of poison made him wary. His jaw clenched as he saw her still smirking at him.

"What did you put in the food?!" Sokka shouted angrily. His body continued to shake and he wasn't sure if it was from the realization or from whatever she had done to the food.

She merely laughed again, enjoying seeing his reaction. She knew he would come to this conclusion eventually.

Sokka's knuckles became white with the grip of his fists as he heard her laugh. It wasn't a normal, happy laugh. It was sweet with a malice air to it that gave him chills and made his hairs stand on end.

She stopped laughing then said quite factual, "I didn't put anything in the food."

Sokka glared, remaining immobile as he said again, "What did you put in my food?"

She said again in the same tone, "I told you, I didn't put anything in your food."

She watched him still, with the same smirk and with such a calm manner that Sokka couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. He didn't trust her and he wasn't about to believe her just because she told him she had done nothing to his food.

He glared at her, not sure what to do- though if he had been poisoned, there wasn't much he could do. He stood facing her in a defensive manner, full of tension.

She smirked then gave a little sigh as she said, "Look, if I wanted to kill you, I would have done so a long time ago."

Sokka stood still, continuing to glare at her. He furrowed his eyebrows as he considered what she just said. He looked down as he became a little less tense, realizing he didn't feel anything that would suggest he had been poisoned.

He looked back at the Princess as he relaxed a little. He remained standing however as he thought of why she was smirking at him. If she hadn't poisoned him, then why would she been smirking at him like that. He had thought she had poisoned him and was killing him. She wouldn't kill him though, she still needed the information that he had.

Unless she did have the information.

Sokka's eyes widened. She couldn't have the information- he hadn't told her anything. Even if she did have the information, why would he still be alive? He looked down at the ground as he felt dizzy. If she had the information, she could just kill him. Then again, if she had found out what she wanted to know, she would have ultimately beaten him. Of course she would want him to know that she had won.

There was no way she could have found out though. The only people who knew about Aang were himself and the group.

Sokka suddenly looked back at the Princess with fearful eyes, considering the possibility that she had found out from someone else in the group. He was sure no one else would tell, but what if she did have another person from the group? What if the reason she was gone for so long from that cell was because she had someone else? She could have Toph, or Katara, or maybe even Aang.

He felt his insides go cold.

She watched him through his thought process, and as he looked at her with wide eyes, she knew he had come to the worst. She smirked once more with a malice grin.

He tensed as he saw her smirk at his reaction. He had to know what was going on.

"Why am I here? What's going on?"

"You know why you're here," She said calmly.

"What is that suppose to mean?" Sokka glared.

"I've already told you, you have the information I need. Well," She smirked, "needed."

Sokka tensed hearing her use the past tense. She couldn't have already found out. Why would she be smirking like that though? She had to know something, and if she knew then Aang would be in danger. Or worse- she would go for his sister- the reason Aang was still alive. He felt his insides go cold at the thought of his sister.

"What do you mean?" Sokka asked carefully.

She continued to smirk, "I mean I don't need the information you have anymore. It's not a problem anymore."

"Not a problem anymore?" Sokka stared.

She said nothing, but smirked.

Sokka's jaw clenched. He felt his heartbeat quicken as he felt his muscles tense once more. His sister was the reason Aang was still alive, and if the matter wasn't a problem anymore, that had to have meant the reason the Avatar was still alive was no longer an existent reason.

"Where is she?" He said through clenched teeth.

She became still for a split second, then said almost in a different calm manner than before, "Who?"

Sokka stared at her, seeing her continuing to smirk. She was playing with him.

"Where is she?" He said again with more tension.

She barely made any change in expression as she said tauntingly, "You're going to have to be a little bit more specific than that."

Sokka moved towards her, not really thinking about what he was doing. She remained completely calm as she watched him come towards her as she stood up in one fluid motion.

"I would be careful if I were you," She said with amusement in her voice. "You wouldn't want to regret anything."

She continued to watch him, not making any movements to defend herself should he do anything. She seemed calm and relaxed, as if the whole thing was exactly what she wanted. Her mere calm nature was enough to taunt Sokka.

He came up to her threateningly, and without her so much as flinching, shoved her against the wall, pinning her there.

She gave a little grunt as her back hit the wall, but still continued to remain calm and in control. The whole situation felt all too familiar.

He held her with such a tight grip that his knuckles were white. He shook from the tension and uncontrollable fear that she had done something to his sister. He was going to do anything he could to find her.

The tension in the room was so complete that the stillness of the room seemed to be because of it.

He glared at her without so much as blinking as he said angrily, "Where is my sister?"

Suddenly her smirk seemed altogether much more sincere. She paused for a moment as her calm composure greatened.

"Your sister?" She said carefully.

"Where is she?!" Sokka grit his teeth.

She smirked back at him, now with a sense of malice. Her expression changed almost as she looked at him. She seemed even more calm now, but in a different way.

"Now why would I know that?" She said almost in a whisper with a hint of animosity.

Sokka furrowed his eyebrows for a moment at her answer and tone.

Suddenly the tension in the room changed as Sokka realized what he had said.

He let go of her suddenly as he took a step back with wide eyes. He watched her as she stepped away from the wall with such a sense of control that he knew he had done exactly what she had wanted him to.

He stared at her as he said, "You- you said she-"

"-No I didn't," She cut him off with a smirk, "You did. I didn't say anything."

She watched him as he came to realize what he had done. He had given her the information she had needed. She was right: she hadn't said anything.

She smirked, knowing her plan had worked. She knew that if she left him alone for a long enough time, he would begin to wonder. Of course he would think the worst as anyone would, but he wouldn't actually consider it to be true without reason. By making him believe she already knew and had taken care of it- the worst had became a reality to him, making him careless. He filled in the blanks himself. She never told him what she knew, or how she had taken care of it. He did that himself. She had tricked him into accidentally telling her the information.

He backed away slowly, still staring at her with wide eyes. She continued to smirk, not saying anything. He suddenly turned and ran towards the door, desperate to get out. He had to reach his sister before she did.

Just as he was about to reach for the door, it suddenly opened and a guard stood in his way.

"Halt!" The guard commanded.

Sokka stopped, looking at the guard in front of him and noticing there were more behind him. There was no way he could fight so many without a weapon. He furrowed his eyebrows as he didn't remember there being so many guards when he had come in here.

Azula walked calmly into the center of the room, knowing there would be a guard outside. She hadn't worried about Sokka escaping at all.

"Guard-"

She was just about to tell him to take Sokka back to his cell when she stopped. She noticed too the odd amount of guards behind the first. She had never told them to stand guard outside this door, they were leaving their posts.

She glared at the guards as she said threateningly, "Guards, is there a reason you-"

She stopped again as the door on the other side of the room, closest to her opened. She turned to see a few more guards step into the room. She looked back at the first guard, furious at the disorderly conduct of her men. They were disobeying her commands and walking around as if she had no authority over them whatsoever.

She was just about to speak her mind when she paused, looking at the first guard. She had never seen him before. Though that wasn't uncommon not to recognize her guards, she at least recognized a few. She looked at the others beside him and saw she didn't know them either. She furrowed her eyebrows. She didn't know any of these guards and now that she thought about it, it was odd that they would all disobey her like this. They weren't stupid enough to intrude in on her like this.

They weren't her guards.

She suddenly tensed and just as her fingertips lit with flame, she felt a jerk as hands grabbed her by the neck, pulling her back. One of the hands held a cloth and gripped it to her mouth and nose, and in a few seconds, she felt the world go black.

Sokka stared wide eyed as he saw the Princess's own guards attack her. He turned and as he did so, felt the grip of hands on both his arms, restraining him. He got pulled back towards the Princess, towards the man who had caused her to go unconscious. He seemed to be the lead man.

"Sir?" The guards holding Sokka asked the man in charge.

The man turned and looked at Sokka, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Take him. He was with the Princess, I'm sure he's important."

Sokka stared back at the man with wide eyes.

"What??"

Important? Sokka then realized, these were not Azula's guards.

"I'm not important! I'm a prisoner!"

The man looked at Sokka, then turned away with a flick of his hand, telling the guards to take Sokka away.

They began to drag him away as Sokka tried to pull away.

"I'm a prisoner! I-"

Sokka then realized why they were not listening to him. He was wearing Fire Nation noble clothes, and was alone with the Princess in the dining chamber. Of course they weren't going to believe he was a prisoner.

He tried to jerk his arm away, but felt the grip tighten. Suddenly hands were around his neck and face. He tried to pull away and he struggled to turn his face away.

As he turned he saw one Azula's actual guards lying on the ground, unconscious. His armor was missing and Sokka was sure one of the men holding him was most likely wearing it.

He felt them grip him more tightly, and soon met a cloth at his face. Then everything went black.

**AN: This was actually a very complicated chapter to write for me. I'm not very proud of it, and I don't think I got across as many things as I wanted to. I just think this chapter is poorly written and for that I'm sorry. **

**Thank you for reading thus far, and thank you so very much if you're keeping with this story. Reviews would very much be appreciated- they keep me writing. **

**And no, no one has yet to guess the twists.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**Loyalties**

She grunted as she was pulled to her feet. She had only recently become conscious, and had no idea what was going on or where she was. A throb of pain in her head caused her to scrunch her eyes closed. She opened them again, trying to bring them into focus. Looking to the side of her, she saw a guard holding her by the arm. She then became aware that her wrists were tied. She furrowed her eyebrows, wondering if they were really stupid enough to think that ropes could hold her hands behind her back.

She felt the guard pull at her arm as he lead her towards a building. As she stepped off the cart she had been in, she looked around at the surrounding area, taking it all in. The guard pulled her away, and they began walking towards the side of the building.

Azula noticed the familiar structure of the building and wondered where she was. Glancing behind her, she furrowed her eyebrows as something caught her attention.

She watched as there seemed to be a group of people leaving what appeared to be the main entrance to the structure. It wasn't so much the group that kept her attention, but the hooded figure leaving the building and walking towards a cart. She could tell it was a woman who appeared to be of high status to her captors. She obviously wasn't the leader though, for she would surely have acknowledged the princess's arrival. By the looks of it, the hooded woman seemed to not even know there were new prisoners coming in.

She felt the guard tug again, then turn in frustration at Azula's slow pace. He then looked to the distraction that was causing the princess to delay them. He saw the hooded figure for a split second, before she disappeared into the cart.

"Ah," he said in recognition, "That's Lady Jeng. Don't worry, you'll meet her soon enough. I'm sure she'll be interested in talking to you once she gets back."

Azula looked back at the guard with furrowed eyebrows.

"She comes and goes. She's not in charge here, but she has a lot of say about what goes on here. She knows a lot of how this works."

"How what works?" Azula asked incredulously.

"The whole thing I guess," he muttered. "Just the whole war and politics and all that."

Azula raised an eyebrow at the man, wondering if he knew what he was talking about. He didn't appear to be the brightest one in the bunch.

He noticed her skeptic look and he continued, "You see, she used to be really high up in the Fire Nation. Some sort of noble or something. Her husband was high up too. Had a lot of say in the war with the military. Even went to all those big war meetings and all that. So she knew about all kinds of things with the war. But then one day, she lost everything. Her home, money, and even her family, all thanks to the Fire Lord. Guess he didn't like how she was trying to run things."

"I've never heard of this Lady Jeng," Azula told the guard, obviously believing this hooded woman to be of some sort of made up story.

"Oh, well, I wouldn't think that you would. The Fire Lord kept it unnoticed almost. Didn't want to start anything I guess. No one really knows what all happened to her or her family, or really what happened at all. Just that she's here now."

"Then how do you know?"

"What?" The guard asked confused.

"How do you know then if supposedly no one knows what really happened?"

The guard opened his mouth to answer, but stopped. He had a confused look on his face, and his forehead creased as he considered what Azula just asked. After a few moments, he couldn't find an answer and in a frustrated manner, told Azula that the prisoners weren't suppose to be talking anyway.

Azula rolled her eyes. The story was obviously made up. She would have known about something like this happening in the Fire Nation. She was, after all, the Princess. It seemed to her to be some sort of tall tale for this hooded mistress to gain access and authority over the rebel group.

She sighed, no longer curious about her captors. She looked around once more, then began heating her hands up, just slightly singing the rope and causing it to give a little wisp of smoke off. They were approaching the building, and just as Azula was about to make her break away escape, she heard a voice behind her.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Azula paused for a second, wondering who was speaking to her, but decided to give it no notice.

Suddenly a hand gripped her wrists and she immediately felt a burning sensation on her skin.

She hissed as she gritted her teeth from the burn. The man who had grabbed her, leaned close to her ear as he said, "I told you not to do that."

Azula's jaw clenched. She turned her head slightly to glare back at the man behind her.

The man smirked, seeing her glare. He was of a strong build, though nothing extreme. He was obviously much more intelligent than the guard she had been talking to moments ago. She could see that just by the look on his face. He had an almost sunken look about him, and his eyes were dark with a devious glint to them. His face was left unshaven, giving him a stubble of a beard, making him look slightly tougher.

The man continued to smirk before letting her wrists go, and placing his hand on her back.

"Yes Princess, we're firebenders as well. Let's keep it moving, shall we?"

He gave her a little push as they stepped through the door into the building. They began walking through different passages when Azula noticed a few guards in front of her with another prisoner. She looked more closely then realized it was Sokka.

The guards and Sokka then turned down a different passage, where Azula and the guards with her turned down another. Azula furrowed her eyebrows and turned to watch where Sokka was going and wondering at the same time where they were taking him.

"Don't fret, you'll see him soon enough."

Azula turned to look at the man again to see him smirking. She turned back in front of her and glared. This man had some sort of nerve.

They then stopped and stepped into a room. Azula soon found herself sitting in a chair, wrists tied to the arm rest. Normally she would have just blasted herself free of this ridiculous containment, but the matter was more complicated than that. The six or so guards around her that she could see were all firebenders, she was sure. Also not to mention the couple of guards standing behind her, watching her vigilantly for any sort of motion.

The man with the dark eyes stood in front of her. He smirked again then said, "Now Princess, this is how this is going to work: I'm going to ask you some questions, and you will answer them. Make any sudden movements, and I assure you, no one in this room will hesitate to stop you. Are we clear?"

Azula said nothing but gave him a haughty glare.

The man merely smirked as he continued, "Tell me, why were you in this area? What is it that your father is planning on doing?"

The change in her expression didn't alter in the least bit as Azula stared at the man.

He gave a little snicker as he looked down at the ground, finding Azula's attitude amusing and entirely anticipated. He looked back up at her.

He pulled a knife from his sheath, and leaned closer. He held the knife up to Azula's neck, the tip barely touching her skin. Azula leaned back slightly, but made no change in expression.

"I'll ask you again. What are you doing for your father?"

Azula remained calm and composed as she continued to give the man the same look. He smirked again, expecting as much.

He stepped back as he said, "Fine."

He turned towards the guard closest to the door.

"Bring in the other one."

"Rui," Another guard in the room said warningly. He seemed to be in a higher command than the average guard, but not enough to command Rui. They were both in equal charge, which seemed to create a problem.

Rui turned towards the other man. "Just relax, Ji."

He turned back towards the guard closest to the door, and gave a nod, telling him to continue with his earlier command. The guard hesitated for a second as he glanced at Ji, but turned and left out the door anyway. Azula furrowed her eyebrows slightly, unsure of what the man was planning on doing.

He returned moments later with another prisoner in his grasp.

Azula tensed, seeing the prisoner was not Sokka as she had anticipated, but instead Ty Lee. She gripped the chair, realizing what Rui was doing. Ty Lee looked towards Azula with a confused look. Azula turned away from Ty Lee's gaze and glared at Rui.

Rui smirked at Azula as he turned and pulled up another chair away from the wall, placing it front of Azula. He nodded towards the guard holding Ty Lee.

Azula continued to glare at Rui as Ty Lee was tied to her chair, now becoming increasingly uneasy. Rui smirked as he turned towards Azula.

"Now, let's try this again."

He held the knife in Azula's general direction still as he said, "What are you doing for your father?"

He then slowly moved the knife in Ty Lee's direction, bring it closer as he stepped towards her.

Azula's jaw tensed as the man moved towards Ty Lee. He stepped behind her, then giving Azula one last smirk, placed the tip of the knife on Ty Lee's neck instead.

The man was smart. He knew Azula wouldn't tell him anything, no matter how much he threatened her. She wasn't afraid of what he or anyone else could do to her. Everyone knew however, that the girl in pink had been spotted with the Princess more than once on their little hunts for the Avatar, and he was curious to see what would happen.

Ty Lee looked at Azula with fearful eyes. She was never as brave as Azula, even when they were kids.

Azula glared across at the man and Ty Lee, saying nothing. The man watched Azula, noticing the death stare she was giving him. The man raised his eyebrows, pressing the question further as he pushed the knife against Ty Lee's neck, causing Ty Lee to tense.

"Answer the question," Rui said angrily. He was beginning to lose patience.

Azula sat stone still, glaring at Rui.

Rui glared back, becoming increasingly angry with Azula's refusal to answer a simple question. She was making him look foolish.

He gripped the knife tight and as his jaw line tensed, he pulled the knife upward and back, carefully slicing Ty Lee's neck on the side and up towards her ear.

Ty Lee gasped from the pain and the sudden shock. She shut her eyes, breathing fast and hard.

"Rui!" Ji yelled as he stepped forward.

Azula gripped the chair, every muscle in her body becoming tense.

Rui looked at Ji with a determined glare as he said, "Wait."

"Rui, this is not how we do things here," Ji said angrily.

"Do you want the information or not?! Besides, this is the Princess, why are you trying to help her? The sooner we stop the war the better. That's what you want, isn't it Ji?" Rui glared at Ji.

Ji glared back at Rui, then after a moment, stepped back against his better judgment.

Azula's knuckles became white with the grip she held on the chair. She watched Ty Lee with a glare at what Rui had done. Ty Lee was shaking and breathing fast. Rui had obviously not cut her very deep, just enough to make a statement.

Rui turned back to glare at Azula, no longer smirking. He brought the knife back to Ty Lee's neck. He stared, waiting for an answer.

Azula gritted her teeth, refusing to answer. She couldn't. He father had sent her away because of her failed killing of the Avatar. He already considered her a failure. She wasn't going to give the information away and risk having the Avatar gain more protection. She had to do what her father sent her to do. She had always been taught growing up not to let emotions get in the way. She wasn't about to tell the man what her father had planned. A good number of people didn't even know the Avatar was alive still. She couldn't let that secret out and have them know she failed to kill him. It worked in her advantage if less people knew what had happened. Her father would immediately consider her a failure if she put her loyalties towards Ty Lee first before her father. She couldn't let that happen. Her father would banish her like Zuko, or even worse, considering she was already on thin ice.

Rui gripped the knife again, losing his temper. He pressed the tip harder against Ty Lee's neck. Ty Lee let out a fearful whimper as she tensed, holding still.

Azula glared at the knife, still not saying a word.

Ty Lee began to breathe quicker as she became more fearful. Azula's jaw clenched as she watched Ty Lee begin to panic. She didn't understand why Azula wouldn't just answer the man, and she was scared.

Rui scowled, pushing the knife even harder. Blood began to run down her neck from the tip.

Ty Lee shut her eyes, unable to control her breathing. A few tears rolled down her cheek as she was beyond scared now.

Azula became so tense, she stopped breathing. She sat completely still and gripped the chair so hard, she could feel the wood of chair started to burn from the uncontrollable heat she was emitting. Rui glared across at Azula with hateful eyes.

"You don't think I will??" Rui said aggressively.

He pushed the knife again, causing the tension in the room to break.

Ty Lee panicked, gasping, "Azula!"

"That's enough Rui!" Ji shouted.

Azula shook from the tension in her body and the hate she felt for Rui. She didn't even blink as she looked fiercely at Ty Lee.

Ji stepped forward, gripping Rui roughly by the shoulder. He glared at Rui angrily, grasping the man so tightly that his hand shook from the grip.

Rui stepped back, glaring fiercely at Ji, and then at Azula again.

Azula breathed in finally as she watched Rui. She never tore her eyes away from him as she gave him the deadliest look she could muster. Rui turned to glare at Ji one last time before he ripped out of his grip and left the room in a temper.

Ji watched him leave, then turned to look at Ty Lee. She had her eyes closed and was still shaking and breathing fast. He turned towards the guards in the room as he said solemnly, "Take them to their cell. We're done here."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sokka sat against the wall, completely frustrated by the situation. He had been Azula's prisoner and now he was with Azula as a prisoner. He was also frustrated with himself for being so stupid. He should have just kept his mouth shut. The only thing that made him feel slightly better was that Azula wasn't free to get to his sister.

He glared down at the ground, wondering how in the world he was going to get out of this.

Suddenly the door opened. Sokka looked up as he saw the girl in pink come in, then Azula right behind her. He furrowed his eyebrows as the door closed.

He looked at the girl in pink and noticed she looked incredibly shaken up, not to mention that she was bleeding a little from her neck. Azula on the other hand just glared at the ground with a look Sokka had never seen before.

He sat still, not sure if he should say anything.

Ty Lee took a few steps then sat down against the wall across from Sokka. Azula stood where she was, still glaring at the ground.

Sokka watched, completely confused.

"Ty Lee. I had to," Azula said crossly.

Ty Lee sat against the wall, not saying anything. She continued to shake, and stare in the direction away from Azula.

"Ty Lee," Azula said again as she moved towards her.

She knelt down in front of her. Ty Lee turned her head, still not looking at Azula. She seemed scared and upset and Sokka didn't even know if they realized he was there.

"Ty Lee, let me see," Azula reached towards Ty lee, trying to turn her face towards her so she could see her neck.

Ty Lee kept her head turned away as she got even more upset.

"Why didn't you just tell him? I thought he was going to kill me," She managed to choke out.

Azula sat still as she glared.

"I couldn't say anything Ty Lee. I didn't just choose to go after the Avatar and find out why he's alive. My father sent me because I failed to kill him the first time."

Ty Lee didn't move as she stared to the side with watery eyes.

"You already know what happened last time he thought I was failure," she said angrily. "I did what I had to do."

Azula stared at Ty Lee. She was so angry with what had happened, she could have killed Rui. She was also angry at herself. She didn't understand why she was so upset about it. She was so used to not letting emotions get to her. It was the first time she actually wanted to act out of emotion more so than reason. She felt so obligated to her father though that she couldn't do anything. She thought she was doing the best thing, and it bothered her that she was regretting it. As the Princess, she was only suppose to do her job.

Looking at Ty Lee however and seeing how frightened she was, she couldn't help but feel bad. Of course there were times when she had felt bad for being mean to Ty Lee, and even took it back, but those were always such trivial matters. This however was new to Azula.

She looked down, then said so quietly that it was more to herself than to Ty Lee, "I shouldn't have."

She paused for a moment, then looked back up at Ty Lee.

"Ty Lee, let me see," she said remorsefully this time.

She reached towards Ty Lee again. Ty Lee tried to turn away again, but started to shake as she scrunched her eyes, trying not to cry. She couldn't help it however, and turned towards Azula, wrapping her arms around her in a hug. Tears ran down her face as she started to cry. She shook as she held onto Azula, more scared of what had happened than anything else.

Azula paused for a second, then wrapped her arms around Ty Lee reassuringly. She held her close as a mother would a child for she felt the need to protect her as she should have done earlier in that room.

Sokka watched, completely dumbfounded. He had never thought he would ever see Azula regret anything. She just seemed so much more of a monster to him than an actual person.

**AN: I can't even express my frustration here. But I wanted to write it. This chapter was suppose to go on, but I decided it was best not to. **

**Like I said earlier in Chapter 3, the friendship between Ty Lee and Azula was important, and I know that there is absolutely no Sokka/Azula interaction here- HOWEVER, this was probably one of the most important chapters in this whole story for the SokkaXAzula, for Sokka saw the relationship between Azula and Ty Lee. For the first time, he has seen Azula have some sort of bond with someone, and actually feel remorse for something- something he thought she wasn't capable of. **

**I know you're thinking Azula and Ty Lee are OOC, but I beg differ. From chapter 3, it was clear there was a sort of bond there, and Azula never really knew how to handle it, other than that she was grateful for it. She obviously didn't know how to handle it properly when Ty Lee was in danger, and was confused by her feelings of guilt for it. **

**This chapter is huge in plot development and character development. I would definitely keep this chapter in the back of your mind if you choose to continue to read my story. **

**Thank you so much for reading, and please review. **

**--Oh and shout out to my latest reviewer, KD Nutjob. Thank you for the reviews you left me, they were very helpful and insightful. Thank for you taking the time to not only read my story, but leave reviews as fantastic as those. --**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**Lady Jeng**

Azula let go of the hug as she gently pushed Ty Lee back so she could see her neck. She reached towards her jaw line, causing Ty Lee to flinch. Azula paused for a second, then repeated the motion, touching her cheek softly with her fingertips, turning her head to see her neck at a better angle.

Azula frowned as she pulled her hand back, still looking at the wound.

"It's still bleeding," she said.

Azula reached towards Ty Lee again, turning her face once more while furrowing her eyebrows.

Ty Lee frowned as she glanced at Azula out of the corner of her eye. She had stopped crying, becoming a little more calm as she was no longer scared. Though the reality of the situation seemed to have set in, and she couldn't help but think about how Azula refused to answer Rui.

She looked down at the ground, then paused for a moment before saying almost reluctantly, "Azula?"

Azula looked at Ty Lee for a second, letting her know she was listening, before turning her attention back towards the wound.

"You… you weren't really going to…let him kill me," Ty Lee paused. She felt Azula go still, her attention on the wound, but not really looking at it.

"…Right?" Ty Lee asked quietly.

Azula slowly pulled her hand away, then turned to look at Ty Lee. Her face looked angry or hurt, Ty Lee couldn't really decide.

Suddenly Azula's face became impassive as she glanced away for a second, before looking back at Ty Lee. She knew she would always be loyal to her father first, and for some reason she couldn't answer Ty Lee.

Ty Lee frowned, understanding Azula's silence. She looked down at the ground, trying not to cry again.

Azula tensed then said indifferently, "Ty Lee, I'm the Princess of the Fire Nation. My loyalties are to that."

Ty Lee glared down at the ground.

"You mean your father," she said tersely. She knew Azula was the Princess, but she couldn't help but feel hurt that Azula put that before her life. She knew it was a bad idea to argue with Azula, but at the moment, her nerves hadn't calmed down completely and she wasn't thinking rationally and nor was Azula.

Azula gave a sharp glare at Ty Lee as she said heatedly, "My father is the Fire Lord. Of course my loyalties are to him."

"Just because you're afraid he'll think you've made a mistake again," Ty Lee returned the glare.

Azula's jaw clenched.

"I am not afraid of anything."

"Oh? So those nightmares you've been having lately are about nothing?"

Ty Lee glared. Azula tensed, giving Ty lee a piercing stare, just daring her to keep going.

"You forget, I'm the one who's always there every time you can't sleep! I know why, I was there, remember?" Ty Lee never once talked to Azula about what had happened. She had understood that Azula would rather not acknowledge it, but at the moment she was so angered that it was the reason she almost lost her life that she didn't care what she was saying.

Azula stood up, glaring down at Ty Lee.

"Just because you were there after doesn't mean you know anything. How dare you," she said furiously. She turned and took a few steps away from Ty Lee, finally acknowledging Sokka's presence in the room by glancing at him.

Sokka had remained where he was the entire time, listening to them talk. He froze when Azula had turned, for she had given him such a strong glare that he knew she was telling him not to say anything. Sokka thought they didn't know he was there, but from the look Azula had given him, he knew that Azula at least had known.

He watched as Azula turned away from Ty Lee and stood facing the wall. She glared with such intensity that Sokka didn't dare move.

Sokka looked down as the silence pressed on. He hated awkward silences, especially when it was full of tension. Ty Lee stared at the ground as Azula still had her back turned.

Ty Lee turned towards Azula, frowning a bit.

"Azula…" She trailed off quietly, unsure of what to say. She regretted saying what she did, but she knew there was no way she could take it back.

Azula remained glaring at the wall, not even acknowledging Ty Lee. Sokka stared at the both of them as the silence pressed on once more. He scratched the back of his head, feeling awkward. He wanted someone to say something, anything. Ty Lee looked back down at the ground though, and Sokka had a feeling she wasn't going to say any more. She probably didn't know what to say and thought it best to not say anything at all. Sokka tensed, feeling the impulse to break the tension.

"So… uh…" Sokka looked around the room, then back at the girls. Ty Lee was looking at him now with a look that clearly showed she was trying to comprehend what he was doing. Azula, on the other hand, ignored him.

Sokka tensed again, feeling the impulse to keep talking, especially since Ty Lee was staring at him and the current awkward silence was more due to him now.

"Uh… So, we're captured. And stuck now," Sokka stated the obvious. Ty Lee furrowed her eyebrows.

"…Speaking of being captured, I was thinking, that maybe since, you know, I'm not really with you guys, maybe you guys could tell them that I'm not…" Azula slowly turned in Sokka's direction, giving him such a strong glare that Sokka found himself suddenly unable to speak.

Sokka looked back down at the ground, clearing his throat.

"…So um, maybe later?" Sokka looked back up at Azula before immediately looking back down, avoiding her glare.

"Right…that's cool."

Suddenly, to Sokka's relief, the door opened and in stepped a guard.

"Lady Jeng wishes to see you."

Azula turned around, looking at the guard who was speaking to her. She gave the man an expressionless look before turning to look at Ty Lee. She made such the slightest change in expression that it was barely even noticeable. Ty Lee however suddenly tensed, understanding the stern look Azula gave her. Sokka furrowed his eyebrows, watching the situation carefully.

Azula turned back towards the guard with an impassive face again before stepping towards him calmly. The guard moved towards Azula, reaching out to grab her arm.

Just as the man grabbed Azula, she twisted her arm in a circular motion, followed by a trail of blue flame. The man immediately let go as he was pushed back by the force of her motion. He took a fighting stance, but before he was able to fight back, he felt a quick few jabs, then fell to the ground.

Ty Lee stood behind the man, looking down at him. She looked up at Azula, who reached towards her, pulling her away from the door just as more guards stepped into the room.

Sokka had stood up, getting ready to fight. He didn't want to fight along side the Princess because he would be helping her. At the moment however, he needed to escape and he wasn't going to be able to do that without her.

The first guard through the door threw a punch at Azula, sending a flame right at her. Azula easily pushed the fire away, then returned the punch, sending a much more powerful one. The man got pushed back as he blocked it.

The men behind him caught him as he stumbled back into them. Sokka took the opportunity of the man being off balance, and ran towards him. Then men hadn't even noticed Sokka as a potential threat, but it was too late. He rammed into the man with his shoulder, causing them both to fall over and the men behind to stumble back.

Sokka grunted as he hit the ground, turning to see the other guards regaining their feet as soon as possible.

Azula ran towards the men before they could take their stances again. She punched a few hard shots in one spinning motion. The men fell back against the wall outside the door as Azula ran through the doorway. She turned quickly, then ducked as another guard outside in the hall had threw his palm at her, full of orange flames.

She spun low to the ground, kicking the man's feet out from under him. He fell hard to the ground, growling from the pain. Azula quickly stood up, seeing more guards running towards them. She brought her hands up, ready to fight when she suddenly heard Ty Lee cry out.

She turned around to see Rui grab her roughly by the arm, pulling her back as she had tried to run out the door. Just then, Sokka appeared at the doorway, ready to run, but stopping at the sight of Ty Lee.

Rui held one of her arms behind her, and used his other hand to grasp her tightly by the neck. He glared at Azula from behind her friend, just daring her to fight him now.

Sokka looked at Rui, who turned to glare at Sokka, before turning back to Azula.

"Move and my hand burns her," he threatened as he spoke to both Sokka and Azula.

Sokka stood frozen. He didn't know Ty Lee, and nor was he on her side. He had fought her many times before, but he couldn't move. It just didn't seem right to risk her death by trying to escape. Sokka turned and looked at Azula. She glared at Rui, clenching her fists as she tried to control her every instinct to burn the man.

Azula was then grabbed by her arms, a man on each one. They pulled her arms back, causing her to grimace as she struggled not to fight back. She continued to glare at Rui.

Rui smirked, still holding Ty Lee by the neck. Ty Lee watched Azula, fearful again. She knew Azula never took orders from anyone and could easily escape the current situation, and that made her nervous. She tensed as she waited for Azula to do something that would cause the man Rui to hurt her.

Azula however did nothing. She struggled to remain glaring at Rui as the guards holding her pushed her shoulders down, causing her to lean over. Another guard moved over to Sokka, grabbing him as well.

"What is going on here?"

The men all turned their attention behind them as they looked at Lady Jeng, and her few personal guards. Rui instantly let go of Ty Lee as he stood up straight as he could.

"Lady Jeng," he sounded nervous. "We were just about to bring-"

"Unhand her," She spoke firmly.

The guards holding Azula turned and looked at Rui. Rui stood staring at Lady Jeng, unsure if he heard her correctly.

"But my Lady, she-"

"Unhand her," she said again with such authority that she sounded threatening.

The guards looked back at Lady Jeng, pausing before they reluctantly let go of the Princess.

Azula stood up straight, still glaring at Rui. Then she noticed Ty Lee's face. She no longer was scared, but utterly shocked. She wasn't looking at Azula anymore either. She was staring behind her, where Lady Jeng was.

Azula furrowed her eyebrows, turning around. She turned with a glare, clenching her fist, ready to strike.

She turned completely around then looked straight at Lady Jeng with a fierce glare. Sokka tensed, waiting for the fight to begin again.

Suddenly Azula froze, and her eyes widened. She tensed with every muscle in her body as she stared at the Lady Jeng in front of her, unable to move.

Sokka furrowed his eyebrows, completely confused by the unexpected tension.

Azula stood firmly where she was as she stared right into the Mistress's golden eyes, turning her shocked face into a glare once more.

Sokka looked back at Ty Lee, who still watched with shock.

"Take her to my private chambers," Lady Jeng commanded of her personal guards next to her. She never took her eyes away from the Princess, just as Azula never tore hers away.

The men went up to Azula without hesitation, and grabbed her by the shoulder, leading her down the hall. Azula allowed the men to lead her, which only caused Sokka to crease his forehead in an even more bewildered confusion than before.

Azula glared at the woman as she passed, then turned to stare in front of her. Lady Jeng watched the Princess walk past, then turned and followed her guards.

Sokka then felt himself be pushed back into the cell, then Ty Lee as well. The door closed and Sokka turned to Ty Lee, who stood frozen in shock.

"Uh…" Sokka started.

Ty Lee then turned abruptly, as she put her hands to her head. Sokka furrowed his eyebrows as he watched her pace, still just as shocked as she was before.

"What… What is going on?" Sokka asked, completely lost.

Ty Lee stopped and looked at Sokka, putting her hands down at her side. She frowned at Sokka for a moment, still with wide eyes and now nervous.

She said with a shaky voice, "That was her mother."

**AN: And you all knew it. I know this chapter sucks but I wanted to post it before the series ended so you guys wouldn't think that I was just copying what might later happen… Sorry for the delay, I just turned 17 a few days ago, and it's been a busy couple weeks. **

**Reviews would very much be appreciated and thank you for reading. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**Rage**

"Her mother…?" Sokka asked Ty Lee, completely shocked. Ty Lee merely frowned and nodded.

"Her mother??" Sokka said again in a hysterical voice.

Ty Lee just stared at Sokka, with wide eyes.

"What is wrong with this family?? I don't even understand," Sokka began as he tried to take in what had just happened. Ty Lee tensed, staring at Sokka as if he was crazy.

"The Fire Lord and her brother; and now her mother has us captured?? Whose side is everyone on?? She tries to kill her brother- he helps her take over a city- I don't even know how the uncle fits in here- and now the mother has us in-- This doesn't even make sense!"

Suddenly Ty Lee reached forward and smacked Sokka across the face, finally shutting him up. Sokka calmed down immediately, after having the sense knocked back into him.

He looked at Ty Lee, still a little freaked out as he cleared his throat and said, "… Thanks."

Ty Lee just nodded, her expression relaxing as Sokka had calmed down.

"But what do we do??" Sokka flipped again, remembering why he had freaked out in the first place.

Ty Lee flinched at Sokka's sudden outburst, then gave him an annoyed look before saying, "I don't know! I didn't even know her mother was alive."

"What?" Sokka asked incredulously.

Ty Lee shrugged as she said, "No one did. She was just disappeared one day…"

"She just disappeared?"

"Yeah," Ty Lee frowned.

Sokka looked down at the ground. He was so confused about everything. The Princess had always come off to him as some sadistic, power-hungry, firebender. He had always thought that her life was so easy, being that she was a Princess of the most powerful nation. He couldn't even comprehend what might be going on with Azula at the moment. Not to mention what he heard between Azula and Ty Lee moments ago about her father.

He continued to look down as he said quietly, "I just always thought that her life was…"

"Perfect?" Ty Lee finished his sentence.

Sokka looked up at Ty Lee to see her frowning at him.

"Well, yeah."

"Not really at all. She's convinced herself it is though," she sighed, looking down at the ground. She sat down, leaning against the wall as she was becoming a little lightheaded from her wound.

Sokka frowned at Ty Lee, noticing her wound was still bleeding.

* * *

The guard opened a door, leading Azula through. He let go, as he stood in the doorway. Azula glared at the ground as she took a few steps forward, away from the man.

Then Lady Jeng stepped in and turned to her guards as she said, "Stand outside."

The guard paused, giving the woman a concerned look.

"I'll be fine. Just stand outside," she told him again.

The man turned and looked at his fellows guards before turning and walking out the door. The door closed and Ursa turned to look at her daughter, who still had her back turned to her. Ursa frowned, never excepting something like this to happen.

She had been helping the Fire Nation rebels for a while, what with her knowledge of how the royal family worked. They had been trying to restore the Fire Nation into what it was before the war. She had never excepted to have her daughter captive though. She came back as soon as she had found out that she was here. She had no clue what to do. Azula had always been more of Ozai's daughter in the sense that he controlled her every move. She had never been concerned as much for Azula as she had been for Zuko. They were both her children, but Zuko was not favored by his father like Azula. And even as a child, Azula had shown her strength, not only through firebending, but as a person. She knew her daughter had more confidence and talent than any other. Not to mention she was just as incredibly stubborn as her father. Though both her children shared that trait from their father. Zuko on the other hand, had always struggled for his father's approval, and in his failure to receive it, became less confident and more desperate. He was of course just as strong as Azula, but she always thought he needed her more. Ursa had always felt she had made a mistake in not thinking Azula needed her. Ozai had turned Azula into everything he wanted, and Ursa had never done anything about it.

She took a few steps into the room, away from the door. She was still frowning as she stared at Azula's back. She stopped, keeping the distance between them as she said quietly, "Azula…"

Azula turned abruptly, facing Ursa as she said with conviction, "It's Princess Azula."

Azula glared, standing upright and confident. Ursa stared, frowning. She was Azula's mother, and should not have to address her by her title. It was Azula's way of insulting her, by not acknowledging their related bloodline.

"Azula, I am your mother," Ursa said calmly.

"No you're not, you were Zuko's mother," Azula said accusingly as she turned her back on her mother once more.

"I am both your mother," Ursa moved towards the Princess, placing her hand on her shoulder as she said, "Azula, you are my child."

Azula immediately jerked her shoulder away from Ursa's touch as she turned, facing her with a bitter glare.

"No, I am not. I'm a monster. Everyone always thought so, even you," she paused as she glared at Ursa, still as condescending as ever.

"Well, you were all right, of course," she said methodically as she turned once again, taking a few delicate steps away from Ursa.

"I never said that," Ursa replied with a frown.

Azula stopped, and turned pointedly as she said calmly with reproach, "You didn't have to."

Azula glared for a moment, then turned away again, carefully walking around the room . Ursa looked at her daughter with a sad expression. Ozai had had his way with her.

"Azula, I had to leave because of your father. If I could have, I would have taken both of you with me. Look at what he's done to you both; what he's done to you," Ursa said dolefully.

Azula stopped again, turning towards Ursa. She looked at her with a self-important stare as she said, "What he's done to me?" she asked almost mockingly.

"I am the most powerful firebender in the Fire Nation. The most powerful firebender anywhere," She said arrogantly.

Ursa frowned, "He made you into a weapon, Azula."

"He made me indestructible," Azula said with a pretentious tone.

She then turned and began to walk slowly again, sliding her hand carelessly across the table next to her as she spoke.

"You see, Zuko's not the only one who was taught a lesson by father. He's not the only one with a scar," she paused as she turned at Ursa for a moment with a standoffish glare. Ursa's expression saddened even more as she realized just how much Ozai had turned Azula into what she was.

Azula turned her attention back to the table as she continued to walk, sliding her fingers delicately across the edge.

"Unlike Zuko though, I learned from my lesson. I don't make mistakes. Not after that one. You see," she stopped walking, still staring at the edge of the table where her hand was, "I never …miss my shots anymore," she said dangerously as she turned and looked at Ursa with a threatening glare.

Ursa tensed slightly as she stared straight at Azula. Both her and Azula knew that Azula's best chance at escape was probably now. The only thing standing her way at the moment was her.

Azula glared at Ursa, her eyes never tearing away. The silence pressed on with sharp tension as both stood still, staring at the other.

Ursa continued to stare firmly at Azula as she said assuredly, "You're not going to hurt me."

"You sound so sure," Azula turned away again, walking away from the table.

Ursa remained where she was, as she said strongly, "You are my daughter Azula, and no matter how much your father has changed you, I still know you."

Azula turned around abruptly, her face full of anger as she lost her controlled manner she had before.

"You do not know me! You don't know anything about me," She glared fiercely at Ursa, her jaw clenching.

Ursa remained calm as she said, "If you were going to hurt me, you would have done so the moment we were alone in this room."

Azula lowered her eyes, glaring pointedly at Ursa as she tried to control her temper.

"You won't hurt me because I'm your mother."

Azula's eyes widened in anger at the audacity of what her mother had just said. She balled her hands into fists as she yelled heatedly, "You are not my mother! I saw the way you looked at me as a child, you always thought of me as some sort of monster! You never once thought of me as your daughter. You are not my mother."

Azula stood with her hands balled into fists, her jaw clenched, and her eyes lowered into a cold-blooded glare.

Ursa frowned slightly as she remained strong, saying quietly, "Then what's stopping you?"

Azula tensed with every muscle in her body, shaking with the struggle of her anger. She tightened her fists, causing her knuckles to whiten. Her jaw clenched tightly, becoming immovable. She heated up her hands, feeling the tantalizing feel of blue flames just waiting at the tip of her fingers. Every instinct in her told her to burn the woman in front of her and make her escape. She shook though as she couldn't do it. Her arms tightened, shaking more as she became closer to her breaking point, just glaring at Ursa with every reason to shoot her shouting in her head.

Ursa stared calmly at Azula, still with a saddened expression as she didn't make any move to defend herself should Azula choose to do something.

Azula's eyes narrowed in an even harsher glare as her mother's calm manner only seemed to taunt to her. She felt the heat in her hands burn, just begging to be released. She scrunched her eyes as she felt her eyes burn. She turned her head away, closing her eyes as enraged tears ran down her cheek. Her arms shook with her strength as she fought with every fiber of her nature to fire.

She tightened her fist, reaching her breaking point as she turned fiercely toward her mother, throwing a punch of blue fire as she gave an anguished cry of rage. The fire flew past Ursa, barely missing her as it burned into the wall behind her, just as Azula had meant it to.

Ursa closed her eyes for a moment, then looked at Azula again with a saddened expression full of understanding.

Azula shook with rage, as she breathed heavily, glaring with hostility at her mother. Every muscle in her body remained tense as the doors opened to guards rushing in from the commotion.

They immediately grabbed Azula by the arms, restraining her, then leading her out the door and away from Ursa. Azula never tore her eyes from Ursa as she glared, hating her for she knew she couldn't kill her. Ursa watched Azula, her expression full of sorrow.

She turned towards the guard as she said in a hallow voice, "Take her back to her cell. And have her friend taken to the medical wing immediately."

She turned away, no longer able to bear the sight of her daughter hating her.

The guard led Azula back to her cell, opening the door and putting her in. Azula stood where she was, glaring with just as much hostility as she had before.

Ty Lee stood up, staring at Azula with wide, frightened eyes.

"Azula?" She frowned as she walked towards Azula, her face full of concern.

The guard then pointed at Ty Lee and said, "You are to come with me. To heal your wound."

Ty Lee looked at the guard, then at Azula still frowning. She wanted to stay with Azula and find out what happened. The guard stepped in, grabbing Ty Lee gently, but firmly by the arm, pulling her in the direction of the door.

Ty Lee lightly grasped onto Azula's arm, wanting to stay but knowing she couldn't. She let herself let go though as the guard led her out the door.

The Princess glared, her fists still clenched as she became angry with herself for being so weak.

Sokka stared at Azula, feeling his insides go cold at seeing the Princess in such a tormented state. He couldn't imagine what her situation must feel like, nor what her life was like. He realized he was wrong when he thought he knew all there was to know about her.

"That was your mother?" Sokka asked as quietly as he could while still being heard.

Azula turned and glared at him with a piercing look before turning back to glare at the wall.

Sokka frowned, feeling confused by the sudden onrush of empathetic emotions for the person he was suppose to hate.

"… I'm sorry," Sokka muttered as he looked down at the ground.

"What?" Azula snapped as she turned to glare at him again.

"I'm sorry…" Sokka said a little bit more clearly.

Azula glared as she said tersely, "For what?"

Sokka looked back up, frowning as he said cautiously, "I-- I didn't know," he looked towards the door, indiacting that he didn't know about Azula's mother or her past history of her family.

Azula glared for a moment, before looking down at the ground. She had no clue why he was apologizing. To her of all people, too. She sat down, leaning against the wall as she continued to look down.

**AN: And FINALLY you will get some SokkaXAzula interaction. **

**I actually had a lot of fun writing this chapter. I've had this idea in my head-- the relationship between Ursa and Azula-- for a really long time. I've always had my own idea of how it would be, and I hope I got it across as effectively as I hoped. Though for once, I feel I did, and I'm happy with what I wrote here. **

**I was going to wait for more reviews before posting this, but like I said, I wanted to post my version before the series ended so I had to write this quickly. **

**Of course, Ursa and Azula will interact again, and I know the lack of information on what happened to Azula is annoying, but you should find out fairly soon, should you choose to continue with my story. **

**Reviews would very much be appreciated and thank you so much for reading thus far.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**Humane**

Azula continued to glare at the ground. She remained still, her body tense. She hadn't seen her mother in years, and suddenly she's there, claiming to be her mother as if nothing happened. Azula didn't know what she was up to, but she wasn't going to fall for it. Her mother never cared for her. She only cared for Zuko. She hadn't even said goodbye to her when she left.

Azula clenched her hand into a fist at the thought. She hated this pained feeling deep in her chest. It made her angry. She hated that it hurt when she thought of how her mother didn't care for her. How she actually felt jealous that she loved Zuko, and not her.

Her jaw tensed as she narrowed her eyes. She shouldn't be jealous or hurt by any of this. She was the Princess of the Fire Nation. Next in line for the throne. She had everything she could ever want. She was as powerful as anyone could imagine, and yet, the fact that her mother left her still put a stab in her heart. And she hated her for it.

"What is your mother doing here?"

Azula turned, hearing the quiet, hesitant voice from across the cell. She glared at him, angry.

"How would I know?" She said with scorn.

Sokka tensed, feeling a little uneasy. "Well, you talked to her… didn't you?"

Azula locked her eyes on him with such a fierceness that Sokka couldn't look away.

"I haven't seen my mother in years, I didn't even know she was still alive. And you think she's going to tell me what she's doing here?" Azula snapped at him. "Obviously it's not anything for the Fire Nation seeing as how we're in prison."

Sokka still couldn't tear his eyes away from her scorching glare.

"My own mother has me locked in a cell. Why do you think that is?" She said with a sour tone. She glared at him, clearly not waiting for an answer, as it didn't need one.

Sokka looked down. "Well I just thought since she is your mother--"

"--Well don't," she snapped at him. "You needn't concern yourself with my family matters," she told him contemptuously.

She turned away from him pointedly, glaring at the wall in front of her.

Sokka looked back up at her, feeling a twinge of frustration towards her. "Look, I'm just trying to help you--"

"Help?" She abruptly turned in his direction. "Help?" She repeated again mockingly. "You're just trying to help me, is that it? No, you're trying to help yourself." Her words dripped with animosity as she continued, "Don't fool yourself into thinking your as modest as you believe. You need me to get out. You're just as selfish as I am."

She left her eyes lingering in his direction, her words seeming to fall on him like a heavy blow.

Sokka glared back at her. For a moment, he felt a stab of resentment towards her before he realized, with an odd pang of guilt, that she was right. He looked down, furrowing his eyebrows. As he glared at the ground, he felt a rather peculiar feeling of shame replace his anger. It frustrated him even more that he actually felt some sort of regret that he had been thinking about himself. He never once considered her, and for good reason. A side of him though, made him feel shameful on his part. That he had neglected to see the situation for her, or her friend for that matter. They were enemies, yes. But at the moment, they were both locked in this cell, and they both shared a common opponent from their imprisonment. Now that Sokka thought about it, there really was no reason for him to act selfishly other than his resentment towards Azula. And that was more out of spite than anything else.

He clenched his hand into a fist, realizing that he had only been concentrating on how Azula could, and should help him. He never once thought about how to help her. Of course, that would have never occurred to him before, and for that he felt that pang of shame again. Was he really as selfish as this monster of a person with him in this cell?

He had thought her to be a horrible person; always looking out for herself and what she wanted. Her piercing words had made him realize he wasn't quite so far off from her as he thought. To him, he never thought he was a monster and nor did anyone else. Was it really fair of him to think of her so badly when he had so selfishly strived for his own intentions-- just as he would have expected of her?

Azula watched him for a few moments before turning away again, a feeling of annoyance arising at his oblivious nature.

Sokka slowly looked back at her, frowning as he did. He let out a sigh as he mumbled reluctantly, "I guess you're right."

Azula remained glaring at the wall, her expression unchanging. She didn't make the slightest acknowledgement that she heard him, though she was still listening. Her interest was rather peeked that he had actually said she was right about something.

"Well, how come…" Sokka sighed, looking for the right words. "Why don't you get along with your mother?" Sokka asked awkwardly.

Azula continued her feigned disinterest for a moment, more out of skepticism of his question than anything else. She slowly turned and looked at him, her eyes narrowed. "Why?" Her voice was hard and distrusting.

"Well I figured it was part of the reason we're in this cell."

"We're in this cell because I'm the Princess of the Fire Nation," she said tersely.

"Well yeah, but if you told me why, maybe it could help us get--"

"--Us?" she asked crossly. "So now it's us?"

"Yeah," Sokka said defiantly. "We're both locked in this cell together. I want to get out, and you want to get out. We might as well help each other." He stared at her with a strong stare.

She narrowed her eyes even more. "I can assure you, prying into my family matters will not bring you closer to an escape."

"Then why is it such a big deal that you won't tell me, huh?" Sokka started frustratingly. "If you actually got along with your mother, would we really be locked up?"

Azula stood up angrily, tensing as she glared at him. "No. I suppose if my mother actually did love me, we wouldn't be locked up."

Sokka stopped, unsure of what to say. He watched as she continued to glare at him, her face full of resentment, though Sokka had a feeling it wasn't completely directed at him.

"I… That's- I didn't say that she didn't love--"

"--No, I know she doesn't," She suddenly said coldly.

Sokka frowned, looking down. He didn't know what to say. He felt rather stupid that he kept pressing the matter. It never occurred to him why she would feel so strongly about it. From the glare she gave him however, he could tell it was not something he should test. He had never thought that her mother didn't love her. He didn't think that was possible of a mother to not love her child. It just had never even came to mind to think about the possibility.

He had an odd desire to say something. Anything that would make it better. He actually found that he felt sorry for her. He couldn't imagine what it would feel like being rejected by a parent. It obviously bothered her. From the moment she walked back in after seeing her mother, she had been dangerously on edge.

He looked back up at her with a frown, "I… didn't know, I'm sorry," he tried to sound as sincere as possible.

Her cold glare remained unbroken as she said sharply, "Don't pity me. I could care less what my mother thinks of me."

She turned again, facing away from him as her tone faded to something more distant, as if she wasn't really talking to him, but to herself. "It's just inconvenient."

Sokka continued to watch her with a frown as she slowly sat back down, clearly ending the conversation by ignoring him.

He looked down, fumbling with his thumbs. He never thought it would be possible that he would actually feel pity for this monster. Though he couldn't really think of her as a monster without feeling a pang of guilt. She couldn't be a monster. Of course she was still their enemy, but he couldn't think of her as a monster after seeing how upset she had got over her mother. Who wouldn't be affected by that? He couldn't even imagine how he would feel if his mother hadn't loved him.

They sat still for a while. Neither saying a word, or even looking in the other's direction. Finally Sokka turned, looking over at her with a frown. He scratched the back of his head as he said a little reluctantly, "Look, I didn't mean to make you mad…"

Azula turned her head slightly in his direction.

Sokka sighed, deciding on what to say. "I just…"

He glared down at the ground for a moment, trying to figure out what he was planning on saying. He looked back up with a frustrated glance, stopping as he saw she was looking at him now.

She didn't glare at him as he thought she would, but instead stared at him with an almost calm, indifferent look. Though it wasn't her calm, expressionless look he had always seen before. It was almost sad looking, though it was still painfully strong. She still held herself with that stern poise, but for the first time, Sokka thought he saw a sort of tormented anguish upon her face that seemed so ironically delicate, making her expression so contradicting, that he couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy while at the same time, a sudden desire to pull himself towards something so tragically beautiful.

He didn't understand it himself, but there was something about her anguished look that made her look incredibly humane, that it actually struck him as something beautiful about her. She was a person. And her desire to remain strong, only made him realize how much more difficult it was for her. He had always seen her strong, and now as he actually saw the tiniest bit of turmoil within herself, he felt sad.

None of it made sense, but in that one slight look, he found he couldn't talk. He had lost his train of thought, and his focus now was only how there was a strange ache in him that made him want to help her. A part of him actually made him want to comfort her. Of course, that would be a natural response to anyone in such a tormented pain, but Azula wasn't anyone. At the moment though, Sokka found a hard time remembering who exactly she was suppose to be.

Without thinking, Sokka felt his face drop into a more saddened frown as he said quietly, "… I just… wish there was something I could--"

His sentence was cut off as the door opened again.

Azula's expression changed immediately as she stood, turning towards the door. Ty Lee stepped in, bounding towards Azula in a few steps. She latched onto Azula with an overwhelming hug as she said, "Azula!"

Azula paused for a moment, still caught up in what Sokka had just been saying. She could have sworn she heard him correctly, but it just seemed so odd. She caught herself though, and hugged Ty Lee back.

Ty Lee pulled back, revealing a slightly bandage neck and an anxious stare. "Azula, I told them to bring me back as soon as they could! What happened? Are you okay?"

Sokka continued to watch Azula, grateful that he hadn't completely finished his sentence. He had no idea why he was about to say what he was. He should hate Azula, and he wanted to hate Azula. It was the most confusing sensation to want to help her, as if she needed it.

Azula stared at Ty Lee for a moment, bringing herself back to what Ty Lee was talking about.

Ty Lee creased her forehead, noticing Azula's slight uncertainty. She furrowed her eyebrows, glancing at Sokka. She noticed he looked even more confused.

She looked back at Azula, pausing before she said, "Uh… is everything okay? Am I missing something?"

Azula quickly regained herself as she said coolly, "No, everything is fine."

Ty Lee stared at her for a moment, then asked as her curiosity prompted her, "What happened with your…"

She trailed off, seeing the slightest change of expression on Azula's face, and she knew not to push it. She hugged Azula again.

Azula paused for a moment, then couldn't help the urge to hug her friend back. Some part of her felt the need to be comforted, though she would never admit it.

**AN: Uh… yeah not that eventful, I'm sorry. And really… doesn't make too much sense. I'm sorry. Though it's all Sokka and Azula interaction and I assure you, this convo between them will definitely push along the long awaited Sokklaness. So please, please have patience lol. I know it's annoying, but I feel it's necessary in order to make a believable Sokkla story, that I don't push it too quickly. Obviously there needs to be character development before anything can happen and I'm working on it haha. **

**Thank you so much for reading and putting up with my updates and slow plot. I really hope that you'll continue to read )**

**Reviews would very much be appreciated, and thank you again. **

**MJ**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**Steadfast **

"Sokka!"

He turned towards the voice. The voice of his sister.

"Katara?"

"Sokka!"

He turned again, searching for his sister. Everything was black though, he couldn't see.

"Katara, where are you?"

"Sokka!"

Sokka turned suddenly to a particularly loud cry this time.

"Katara!"

He ran towards the buddle on the floor, his sister. She was in pain, she was dying. He fell to his knees, grabbing her before she could slip away.

"Katara," his voice broke.

She looked at him then, eyes full of distraught pain.

"Sokka," she whispered, "how could you?"

"What?" Sokka frowned scrunching his eyes from the pain of seeing his sister in such a state.

"This is your fault," Katara's voice weakened.

Sokka furrowed his eyebrows, gripping his sister tighter. "Katara?"

Suddenly flames all around him burst up from the ground. Sokka jumped to his feet, turning to find the source.

He heard another cry and turned frantically.

"Aang!" Sokka went to run towards his friend. His friend who was in desperate need of his help.

He was stopped however, as flames prevented him from moving forward. He heard a laugher then, with such animosity that it gave him chills.

He turned, seeing Azula sitting on her throne, surrounded by blue flames. She laughed again, turning to Sokka with a smirk.

"But of course, I must thank you."

Sokka felt himself go cold.

"None of this would have been possible without your help," she gave him a haunting smile as she began to laugh again.

He heard his sister again, calling out to him for help. He turned, searching.

"Katara!" He ran, flames all around threatening to engulf him.

"Katara!" She was no where to be found.

"Katara!"

He felt hands grip him. He sat up quickly, opening his eyes.

"Katara??"

"Shh! You're going to wake everyone in the building."

Sokka turned towards the cross voice. It was Azula, giving him an annoyed look. He paused, staring at her for a couple seconds, realizing what he had seen was just a dream. A pretty accurate dream in accordance of what she would do, however. She was a monster, and his dream reminded him of that.

He then realized it was her grip that held him firmly by the shoulder. He suddenly felt a twinge of uncontrollable rage at the touch of her. He violently shoved her hand off his shoulder, glaring at her with undeniable hatred.

"This is all your fault," he tore at her with as much viciousness as he could muster.

Azula paused for a second, furrowing her eyebrows. She disregarded his comment for the moment in her perplexed state as to why he was acting this way.

Before she could say anything back, Sokka suddenly gripped her roughly by the front of her shirt, standing up with such power that she was wrenched up with him. She didn't even have the time to realize what happened before he slammed her into the wall, leaving her breathless.

"Everything is your fault!" He spat angrily at her.

Azula gritted her teeth from the pain at being crushed into the stone wall behind her, but also at the pain from the force at which he kept her then. Her jaw tensed as she gained back her controlled nature, and glared at him.

He glared right back at her. "All of this pain and destruction- lives that are lost and families torn apart- it's all your fault," he growled, his voice low.

"You don't care about anything that you do, or who you hurt. You destroy lives everyday just for that father of yours!" He tightened his grip, still glaring straight into her eyes.

She glared back at him, finding herself unable to stop him. A part of her was still only completely perplexed at the nerve that he had to even attempt what he was doing. It was almost intriguing. Certainly no one ever had the audacity to try something of the sort before.

The other part of her however, was just entirely silenced by the power of which his rage tore from. It was so unexpected and so unprovoked, that she found it was hardly something she could push aside. He had definitely caught her attention, and the force and fever that he put forth only caused to make him noteworthy.

"After everything, you're just going to go back home to your perfect little life, without so much as a thought to those you've destroyed," he leaned closer, merely inches from her face, his voice low.

"I've never met a monster that could do such things and not feel a thing. That's why your life is so damn perfect, isn't it?" His voice grew harsh. He held her where she was, glaring with hostility, remembering all the reasons why he should hate her.

She glared coldly at him, holding the tension as she kept the silence.

She then suddenly brought her hands up with that notorious speed of hers, and pushed his grip off her. Before Sokka could react, she had turned his arm, forcing his shoulder and body to comply. He hissed as he felt his shoulder tear into a jolted twist, turning him around. She held his arm, gripping his wrists together behind his back, her grip unyielding.

Sokka tensed as he struggled against her, trying to twist out of his sudden uncompromising position. She glared at him still, her composure completely controlled.

"That was quite bold of you," she calmly said.

"That can be rather endearing," she leaned closer, her lips inches from his ear, "or rather stupid." She whispered with unmistakable warning directed towards him.

Sokka's jaw became rigid as he stilled. He glared ahead of him, complying to her firm hold. He still felt completely enraged, but at the whisper from which she voiced, he was reminded of who exactly he had pinned against that wall. No one but Azula could inflict such chills from only a whisper of words.

She paused, letting her words linger before she pulled back slightly, saying in a clearly more angered voice, "Don't assume you know anything about me."

She jerked her grip free from Sokka, releasing her hold. Sokka quickly pulled his hands away from her, stepping forward and turning to face her. He glared, just as she glared back at him.

She turned then, stepping back towards her and Ty Lee's side of the room, clearly dismissing the feud that Sokka brought forth.

"Why?" Sokka growled.

Azula stopped, turned and looked at Sokka, a warning look upon her face. "Why, what?" She said threateningly.

"Why do you do it?" Sokka growled again, knowing she would understand what he meant. "Everything that you do."

Azula held completely still, holding her glare.

"That's why your mother doesn't love you, isn't it? That's why we're here." Sokka said in a low voice, his tone condemning.

Azula's eyes narrowed at the boy. She knew his statement to be completely true, and because of that, it didn't provoke the hostility that Sokka so fully expected. It actually provoked quite the opposite effect in her, though of course she would not show it. It left some sort of blow. She knew it to be true, but hearing someone else say it, seemed to only make the reality that much more real.

She paused for a moment, giving Sokka a threatening glare, from which he expected another dispute to arise. Instead, she laughed disdainfully. Sokka tensed even more so, always more weary when he didn't know what to expect from Azula.

"I'm a Princess, _Sokka,_" she said his name for the first time to him, completely full of scorn. "I have a duty to an entire nation. I wouldn't expect someone like you to understand that," she turned, her statement full of contempt.

Sokka stood still as he said firmly, "And I have a family."

Azula stopped, still not facing him.

"My duty is to them. I wouldn't expect someone like _you _to understand that," Sokka returned with even more contempt.

Azula stood where she was, motionless. She glared in front of her, her jaw tense. She slowly turned half way, looking over her shoulder at the boy. He stood steadfast, his glare firm. Both glared at each other with such rigid power that neither dare looked away. Only this time, their glares didn't hold the contempt they felt for each other, but rather the passion from which their rage came from. Neither could possibly understand the other's statement, but it was evident that from both came a impenetrable reason behind their fury. And that, they both understood.

Azula broke her glare from him first, turning pointedly away from him. She walked back towards Ty Lee, who during this whole time had only found she could watch. She was still half way standing from earlier, when she was about to intervene with their quarrel, but had stopped when she realized just how deep this one went. She could only watch as- just with what had happened to Azula- their strength and vigor silenced her.

Azula ignored Ty Lee as she returned to her spot earlier, still fuming from her and Sokka's dispute. What bothered her the most however and what infuriated her more, was that she knew that they were somehow both right in what they said.

Glancing at Sokka's rigid form across the prison, she knew he knew that as well.

**AN: Odd chapter I know. I don't even really know what to say for this except that I didn't want Sokka to just conveniently forget why he is suppose to hate Azula- which are pretty legit reasons. Though from this chapter, their opposing sides have been established to have something more to them than either of them ever bothered to look for. Which I feel is important. **

**I'm sorry for such long delays in chapters (and I'm sorry this one is so short) and I hope that you will continue to read my story. I have finally planned it all out and it has a complete story now, so don't desert me now! **

**Reviews would very much be appreciated, they honestly keep me writing. **

**Thank you for reading**

**MJ**


	11. Chapter 11

-1**Chapter 11**

**The Edge**

Azula looked towards the door as she heard the distant sound of another door opening down the hall. She sighed, realizing that their commotion had obviously attracted some attention. She was just about to roll her eyes when she stopped, an idea forming in her head.

She looked towards Sokka as he heard the approaching footsteps. "Great," he muttered.

She quickly turned towards Ty Lee and spoke quietly, "Ty Lee, stand by the door."

Ty Lee furrowed her eyebrows, and after a moment of hesitation, did as Azula said. Azula had stood up and moved towards Sokka, who was now giving her a confused look.

"Fight with me," she whispered.

"What?" Sokka blurted out.

"Fight with me," she repeated again in a more hurried tone as she heard the footsteps getting closer. She knew now was their time. It was still night, which meant that majority of the people were asleep.

Sokka stood hesitantly, giving her an odd look. "Uh…"

"Come on," Azula shoved him as she started to get impatient.

"Hey, what was that for?" Sokka glared at her, stumbling back a step from her shove.

Azula rolled her eyes and whispered quite hurriedly, "Fight with me and the guard will come in to break it up so we don't wake everyone, then we get out of here! Now come on!"

"What's going on in here?" A voice from outside the door.

Azula looked to Sokka, eyes wide. Sokka looked towards the door for a second before turning towards Azula.

"Don't touch me! You… jerk!" Sokka voiced rather loudly as he gave her a shove back.

Azula rolled her eyes at his methods of fake fighting before returning, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Oh yeah?" Sokka pushed her again.

Azula furrowed her eyebrows, knowing that they were fake fighting, but feeling rather honestly annoyed at his antics. She glared at him as she shoved him back, "Yeah."

"Oh, so you mean this?" Sokka shoved her once more.

Azula stumbled back a step, her jaw clenching as her temper began to show. "I'm warning you. Shove me one more time-"

"- And you'll what?" Sokka stepped towards her.

"Hey! Stop that in there," The guard outside tried voicing.

Azula ignited her hand in blue flames, making sure the light of it was bright enough to seep through the cracks of the door so that the guard knew.

"Hey!" She heard the guard shout.

"Oh I'm scared now," Sokka mocked her.

Azula glared, momentarily forgetting that they were fake fighting and threw a punch in his direction, aiming the fire just above his head as a clear warning.

Sokka's eyes widened as he ducked slightly, feeling the heat of the flames race past his head. He looked back at Azula, who now looked at Sokka with an all too serious glare. Before Sokka could remind her that this was suppose to be fake, the door opened and in came the guard, holding his spear at the ready.

"Hey! No firebending in--"

Before he could finish his sentence, Ty Lee had quickly punched him in all the right places causing him to fall, completely useless.

Azula turned towards Sokka, "Come on!"

She moved towards the door, Ty Lee catching on as she had already ran out the door. Sokka followed quickly as he said in a hushed voice, "You shot at me!"

Azula looked back at Sokka as they continued to move down the hall. "You were making me mad," she said as if it was obvious. "Now come on," she said again as they hurried their pace.

Sokka rolled his eyes, then continued to follow the girls.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They were outside now, and running as fast as they could. Azula heard a man shout that they were getting away and recognized it as the voice of Rui. She had to mentally tell herself to keep running despite how much she wanted to turn around and scorch his face off.

They reached the trees now and continued to run as they heard footsteps beginning to catch up behind them. Ty Lee was still in front, with Sokka following behind both of them.

They came around a bend of trees and to the edge of some sort of drop off. They followed the bend and ran along the side of the edge.

Just then Sokka felt the ground beneath him falter. He slipped slightly as the stone he had loosened under his foot tumbled over the edge. He regained his footing rather sloppily only to find the dirt around him crumbling away, as if the stone had been what was holding it together. He tired grabbing the edge, but found nothing but dirt to grip. He growled as he scraped at the ground uselessly as he fell. He caught one last glimpse of the girls, still running along the edge, completely unaware of his situation.

He quickly slipped off the edge with nothing to grip and found himself falling for about a second before hitting a piece of the earth that jutted out into another ledge below. He grunted as he hit the ground, grasping onto the rocks beside him before he could fall again.

He heard a few more rocks crumble away and fall below, making a splash. Sokka then realized that it dropped off into water. He stayed where he was, completely frozen as he heard the last of the few rocks and pebbles slide away. He could hardly see the dust around him with it being night, but he could feel it all around him.

More running steps came just then, passing overhead and completely oblivious to one of their prisoners on the ledge below. Sokka remained still, hardly wanting to breathe as he heard the guards run past, realizing that he was going to escape if they didn't find him.

They continued to run past without hesitating, and soon Sokka could hear nothing but their footsteps fading away. He waited a few seconds after he couldn't hear them anymore, then pulled himself up and closer to the wall, finding this edge rather stable. He looked below him for a second before turning back to the wall, following the edge along.

He continued to follow the edge and saw that it curved around with the wall. He walked alongside the curve and began to hear commotion again.

He looked down and saw that he could see the rest of them. He had come to the ending of his edge and realized as he saw them below that the edge they had been following earlier, sloped down after bending around the trees. They were now slightly below him, still among the edge of this drop off. Sokka pressed himself against the wall, knowing that if he could see them this well, they would surely be able to see him if they looked.

His eyebrows furrowed as he saw someone struggling with the guards. As they continued to pull and fight, Sokka caught sight of Ty Lee. She gave a soft cry as they pulled her arms behind her back, and with the help of more hands, eventually gained control of her.

Just then he heard another cry, much louder and obviously in pain. His eyes followed along the edge, which curved yet again so that it was almost directly across from where he was. He then saw Azula, who had evidently been fighting her way this whole time. She lay on the ground, having been overtaken by Rui by surprise and tripped to the ground.

He had her arms behind her now, with other guards holding her down as well. Azula growled, pulling hard, trying to wrench free of their grip. Rui laughed smugly as he individually yanked her up with his hold on her arm with complete unnecessary force, causing her shoulder to tear away from her.

Sokka heard her yell in utter pain as she was forced to stand up. The other guards let go of their hold on her and looked to Rui, who still had her in his grip. He smirked at her and continued to laugh. "Thought you could get away that easily, did you Princess?"

Azula gritted her teeth, fighting the urge not to yell out in pain. She turned her head towards him and angrily spat in his face and gave him a look with as much disdain as she could muster.

Clearly that was the wrong thing for her to do as Rui gave a growl of rage and disgust, jerking her closer to him as he hissed in her face, "You little…"

She then brought her knee up, slamming it into his gut as hard as she could. He immediately let go, letting her fall to the ground. She growled again in pain as she hit the floor, quickly grabbed again by the many guards surrounding her. They pulled her up, and she glared at Rui as he was still doubled over, regaining his breath.

After a few seconds he pulled his head up and gave Azula the most livid look she had ever seen. His lips curled back in a snarl as he approached her, absolutely furious.

He gripped her roughly by the front of the shirt and jerked her towards him, causing the other guards to have to let go. "I hope you can swim Princess," he scowled before tightening his grip and shoving her against the large rock beside them with as much force as he could.

"Azula!" Ty Lee yelled from where she was, starting with a renewed struggle to escape from their hold. Azula became limp, obviously knocked out from the blow. Sokka frowned and turned away, glaring to the side. He needed to escape and now was his chance. Azula and Ty Lee weren't even his friends. They had helped each other get out, and now Sokka had the opportunity to escape. They hadn't even noticed that he wasn't there, or if they had, they didn't care as Azula was their main priority. And surely they would not help him if he had been the one to have been caught.

Sokka turned, following the edge back around. He would wait until he heard them pass again, and then he would make his way back to his friends.

"Azula!" He heard Ty Lee shout again.

"Rui!" Another guard shouted.

"Azula!!"

Sokka turned just in time to see a dark shape, that of Azula, falling from the edge towards the water below.

"Rui! We're suppose to bring her back alive!" An angry voice from Ty Lee's direction shouted.

Sokka watched as the figure fell still and lifeless until it made a splash below, soon completely consumed and no where to be seen.

"Then go get her," Rui replied in an offhand manner.

No one moved as they all seemed to be watching the water, somehow all hoping that she would surface, but knowing that she would not. They waited for what seemed like hours, when it was merely seconds, staring at the water. Sokka felt himself tense as he stared at the ripples still flowing away from where she had sunk below.

"Azula!" Ty Lee yelled again, her voice becoming strained with panic. "Azula!… Azula!"

Nothing happened.

"… Azula," Ty Lee choked out again.

Sokka scrunched his eyes shut at hearing Ty Lee's voice. He turned away from the water, and opened his eyes, glaring at the path in front of him. This was his chance to escape. If he did anything now, they would see him and he would be captured once again. And surely there would be no more chance of escape like this.

But if he didn't do anything, then Azula would die.

Sokka scrunched his eyes again, frustrated at himself for letting his escape and possibly the world's face slip away.

He took in a deep breath and turned once again towards the water. He clenched his hands into fists, then took a few running steps, placing his foot on the edge and leaped into the water below.

He fell for a few seconds before he hit the water, feeling the cold water completely surround him as he felt himself sink below. He pulled his arms forward and swam towards where Azula fell with as much strength as he could.

Soon he could see a darkened figure, unmoving and sinking. He swam forward with even more speed, closing the gap between him and Azula. He wrapped his arm around her waist, holding her tightly to his body, then turned his face upward, pulling them towards the surface.

They broke through the top of the water, Sokka gasping for air and pulling Azula along with him as he made his way to the water's edge.

He could hear the commotion above him and people running, trying to find a way below as they saw him pull her up with him.

He reached the edge and felt the ground below his feet. He gripped Azula with both arms now and drug her out of the water, laying her down in the dirt a few feet from the water's edge.

He knelt down beside her, still breathing heavy as he stared at her motionless face.

"Azula?"

She wasn't breathing.

"Azula." Sokka placed his hands on her shoulders, shaking her slightly.

She still wouldn't move. Sokka frowned, a strange panic coming to him now as Azula remained unresponsive. He looked towards the wound on the side of head where Rui had hit her against the rock, bleeding and running alongside her face.

He moved closer towards her and without thinking, moved one his hands to her face, caressing her cheek firmly, as if to gain her attention.

"Azula…" He said rather quietly.

Suddenly he felt her body jerk, and she opened her eyes wide, coughing uncontrollably. She turned to the side, still coughing as Sokka pulled his hand back, sighing slightly in relief.

She rolled back onto her back and looked at him, exhausted and in pain. He stared back at her as for once she was completely vulnerable. He couldn't tell what sort of look she was giving him, but he had never seen it before. The way she looked at him though made him just want to protect her. It was as if she knew that he would, and that she knew that she would be okay. That was the look she gave him before she winced and closed her eyes once again. And it was that look that made Sokka feel that he should protect her, because she needed him to.

Just then Sokka heard footsteps approaching. They had obviously found a way down and were now coming upon them now. Sokka remained knelt by Azula as a few guards came into view and held their spears at the ready.

He then heard Rui yell, "Out of my way!"

Sokka tensed and stood up, stepping towards the approaching group of guards so that he was in front of Azula. He didn't quite know why, but the thought of Rui getting anywhere near Azula again absolutely infuriated him. Her dislocated shoulder and bleeding head were completely unnecessary and that only made Sokka want to punch this man in the face for his cruelty, even if it was to his enemy. At least the person who was suppose to be his enemy. At the moment, Rui was his target and he wasn't going to let Rui anywhere near Azula. He hated men like Rui, and right now, Sokka was the only person standing between Rui and Azula.

Rui shoved past a few guards and glared down at Azula before looking up Sokka.

"Move boy," he growled as he stepped towards Azula.

Sokka glared as he deliberately tensed where he was standing and would not move.

Rui stopped and looked at Sokka almost with amusement at first. He laughed rather hatefully then said, "Did you hear me? I said move."

Sokka didn't say a word, but just stood where he was.

Rui scoffed then turned to the guard next to him, telling him to apprehend Sokka.

The guard looked warily at Rui, then at Azula. Rui glared at the man and turned to the other guard next to him, who did the same thing, only stepped back this time, refusing his order. In fact, all the guards stepped away from Rui, having no respect for his uncalled for and brutal tactics. Apparently, they had no problem with allowing Sokka to manage Azula's current condition.

Rui glared at the men around him then turned towards Sokka. "Fine, I'll do it myself."

He stepped towards Sokka, puffing out his chest with the intention of intimidating Sokka so that he would back off.

Sokka clenched his hand into a fist, stepped forward before Rui could even take another step closer, and punched him square in the jaw with as much force as he had.

Rui stumbled back, clearly shocked that Sokka had the nerve to do such a thing. He growled and started towards Sokka again before hearing, "Rui!"

He stopped and turned, seeing Ji step into the group with a few other guards who held Ty Lee.

"Azula!" Ty Lee yelled again at seeing her friend lying on the ground.

Ji glared at Rui as he stepped towards the man, tired of putting up with him. "That will be enough," he said with authority that also had a hint of warning to it.

Ji turned towards Sokka, then looked down at Azula. He frowned before looking back at Sokka, seeing his look of opposition. He knew that Sokka wasn't going to back down, and nor could he blame him. He had been yelling at Rui from where he had Ty Lee, and if he could have, he would have punched Rui in the face too.

He gave a nod towards Sokka then said to the men around him, "We have the prisoners. It's time to go back."

He turned, leading the way back when another guard said, "But what about her?"

Ji looked and saw that the man was looking at Azula and wondering who was going to have to battle their way through Sokka to get to her.

"I'm sure the young man can handle it," he said as he looked at Sokka. "Just follow from behind."

Ji turned again, leading the way.

Sokka glared at the men around him for a second, then glowered at Rui as he watched him follow Ji angrily. Sokka turned back towards Azula, who seemed hardly conscious. He knelt down beside her again, putting one arm around her shoulders, and the other under her knees. He picked her up, holding her against her chest and taking heed to her injured shoulder. He turned, following the other guards back to his cell, with the others behind keeping their watch.

**AN: Okay, okay, I know it's rather sudden that Sokka's taken on this protective stance with seemingly no reason. But Rui is an asshole, and the idea of Sokka punching him in the face over Azula was just too much to pass up, I'm sorry. **

**And I'm sorry for the delay. But this chapter is rather long, so hopefully that will be okay for some of you. I really hope you'll continue to read this story, even though I know it's slow in the whole Azula/Sokkaness… but uh. Here's chapter 11. **

**I would very very much appreciate if you would review, as annoying as that is. But if I know that people are reading and enjoying my story, guess what? I write! So it does well for both of us =)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**Misunderstandings**

She was still unconscious as Sokka carried her, following the guards in front of him. He could see Ty Lee, with a few other guards walking close beside her. Ji was in front, looking back every so often to check on them.

They reached the building and began to walk inside when Sokka saw Ji speaking to one of the guards that had stayed behind during the chase. The man nodded and quickly left his post, obviously carrying out some order Ji had requested.

He then turned towards Sokka and made his way towards him as the others continued to walk in.

"This way," Ji turned down another hall as the others continued another way, back towards the cells. Sokka followed Ji, as well as the few guards still close behind.

They entered a room that looked to Sokka like their healing area. He walked into the center and gently lowered Azula down onto the mat that was laid there. He remained knelt beside her, grimacing as he saw that her head was still bleeding.

Ji looked down at Azula, then knelt beside Sokka, sighing as he said, "Lady Jeng will be here shortly."

Sokka didn't respond, but just remained looking at Azula with a frown.

Ji sat motionless for a second, looking at Azula as well. Then he turned to look at Sokka, paused for a moment as he watched the young man, then said, "It's a good thing you went in after her, otherwise she'd probably be dead. She's lucky to have a guy like you."

Sokka turned and looked at Ji, furrowing his eyebrows, "What? No, I'm not with her," Sokka said quickly. "I don't even like her."

Ji raised his eyebrow, staring at Sokka with a suspicious look. Just then the door opened again, and Lady Jeng rushed in, still in her night attire.

Ji immediately stood up, facing Lady Jeng who had now found her daughter lying on the mat. She looked at Azula with wide eyes, then to Ji as she said, "What happened?"

"Lady Jeng," Ji bowed slightly before continuing, "They had escaped somehow. We caught up to them and…" Ji hesitated. Lady Jeng waited patiently, waiting for him to finish his explanation.

Ji sighed then said, "I apologize Lady Jeng, but I would like to request that Rui no longer remains here as your guard."

Lady Jeng furrowed her eyebrows for a second at Ji's sudden change of subject, before realizing the relation. She looked to Azula then again at Ji, who frowned, confirming her thoughts.

She tensed as her instincts as a mother made her want to take care of Rui herself at this very moment. She hadn't been with Azula for majority of her young daughter's life, but she was still her child, and Ursa was still her mother; and everyone knows not to mess with a mother bear's cub.

"Remove him from this building. Immediately," Lady Jeng stared at Ji, still tense.

Ji nodded, "Yes, my lady.

"And one more thing." Ji looked towards Sokka, Lady Jeng following his glance. "The young man there saved her from drowning and carried her back. He uh… wouldn't let anyone near her."

Lady Jeng looked back at Ji, furrowing her eyebrows. Ji shrugged as a way of saying that he really didn't have an explanation for Sokka or who he was.

She frowned slightly then said, "Thank you."

Ji bowed again before turning and walking out the door, the guards following him, leaving Ursa, Sokka, and Azula alone.

Ursa looked back at Sokka and Azula, furrowing her eyebrows once more as she stared at them both intently. She watched Sokka for a moment, before he turned to look at her, his face serious.

"The healer should be here any moment," She said before moving towards her daughter.

She knelt down beside her across from Sokka, frowning as she stared at her face. She slowly reached towards her, cupping her cheek in her hand for a moment, before caressing it along to her forehead, brushing aside a few hairs.

Sokka watched her and frowned realizing that Azula's notion of her mother not loving her had to be entirely wrong. He looked back down at Azula, thinking about what he had said to Ji. He had told him that he didn't even like Azula. He realized though that that wasn't completely true. There was a part of Azula that he didn't like. And the other part of her he wasn't sure. She had thought that her mother didn't love her, and Sokka had just assumed that was correct, given their situation, and that the reasons must be because Azula was a monster. Obviously though, Ursa did love her daughter, and for some reason Azula had a hard time believing that.

Sokka looked back up to see that Ursa had been watching him. Her face was grim as she continued to look at Sokka.

They both turned their attention towards Azula again when they heard her groan. She scrunched her eyes shut before opening them again, letting out a growl of pain.

"Azula," Ursa said urgently as she reached towards her daughter.

Azula immediately shifted away from Ursa, suddenly letting out a cry of pain as she did so. She gritted her teeth in pain as she moved her good arm towards her shoulder. Ursa frowned, then hesitantly moved towards her again, saying more softly this time, "Azula…"

She let out another cry however as she sat up, much too quickly, turning away from her mother, and consequently towards Sokka. Sokka frowned, slightly moving back, unsure of what to do, but allowing Azula her space.

Ursa tried reaching towards her one more time as she said, "Please, Azula, you need to lie down."

Azula's face hardened as she said, "I'm fine." She remained turned away from her mother and glared as she stood up suddenly with the intention of backing up her statement.

Sokka quickly stood up as well, knowing she wouldn't be able to stand. Azula growled as she felt her head pound and her shoulder throb in protest, and stumbled forward, shutting her eyes closed from the pain.

Sokka stepped forward, carefully putting his hands forward to stop her from falling. He wanted to avoid touching her injured shoulder however, so he placed one of his hands faintly on her stomach, and the other on her uninjured shoulder with more stability.

She instinctively gripped onto him for support as she felt her body scream in pain, refusing to comply with her determination to show how strong she was.

"Azula…" Ursa stood as well, frowning at her daughter.

Azula tensed and released her hold on Sokka, turning towards the door as she tried to make her leave. She stumbled once more, falling this time onto her knees. Sokka stumbled towards her, somewhat catching her as she fell. She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes as she remained kneeling on the ground, unable to pull herself up again.

Ursa opened her mouth to say something, but stopped as she decided against it, knowing it would only provoke more resistance from Azula.

Sokka frowned as he carefully kept his grip on her waist and shoulder, unsure if she would be able to even sit up by herself.

Just then the healer opened the door, stepped in and apologized to Lady Jeng for not being there sooner.

The healer turned towards Sokka and Azula and moved towards them, kneeling in front of Azula. She slowly opened her eyes and glared up at the healer.

He looked her over once, then frowned as he took in her injuries.

It was then that Azula realized that Sokka still had his hold on her, and it irritated her that she needed help, and not to mention that anyone dared touch her. She weakly tried shifting away as she growled in a threatening voice, "Let go."

Sokka was just about to move his hands when the healer said, "Actually, he's going to have to stay right where he is. We're going to have to put that shoulder back into place I'm afraid, and you'll-" He stopped as he saw the look on her face, clearing his throat slightly as he continued, "I mean… _I'll_ need his support to keep you from moving."

Azula growled again as she knew the healer was right. He moved towards her, frowning as he said, "I'm sorry, but this will hurt."

Azula's face hardened again as she turned slightly towards the side so that Sokka's shoulder was in front of her. Sokka shifted as he kept one of his hands on her waist and the other in front of him, on her good shoulder. Azula turned her face away from Sokka, her body tensing.

The healer reached towards her shoulder, lightly placing his hands in the right position. Sokka felt Azula tense, then grip his shoulder, already in pain from the slight touch.

The healer paused for a second, frowning before he said quickly, "I'm sorry, my dear."

Before Azula could even make any sort of response or reaction to his words, he quickly and firmly gripped her shoulder, jerking it back, then forward, her shoulder popping very distinctly as he did so.

Azula screamed, gripping onto Sokka tightly as the pain became too much to bear. Her yell became hoarse as it turned into a shuddering groan, her grip only tightening even more. With eyes scrunched close, she turned her face towards Sokka so that her face was against his shoulder, her jaw clenching as she forced herself to scream no more. She let out a pained growl as she kept her forehead pressed against Sokka.

Sokka had winced at the pop of her shoulder and was now frowning as he tried to remain still. He turned his head away, knowing she was in awful pain. He kept his hands firm as he held her in place, not allowing her to move so that she wouldn't hurt herself.

The healer moved back, frowning still as he knew how much pain Azula was in. He then stood, turning towards the other side of the room to retrieve the right items for Azula's injured head.

Sokka looked up and saw Ursa still standing where she was earlier, frowning with a sad look in her eyes partly from the pain Azula was going through and partly from the fact that Azula refused to let her anywhere near.

The healer returned, holding a washcloth and bowl in hand.

"Miss…" He said almost apologetically, trying to get Azula's attention.

Azula growled again as she turned away from Sokka towards the healer, her back now leaning against Sokka.

The healer dipped the washcloth in the bowl then slowly moved it towards the gash in her head. He gently dabbed, resulting in a low hiss from Azula. He continued to dab around the cut, eventually wiping the blood away.

"If you could," The healer looked towards Sokka, nodding in the direction of the mat, where Azula probably should have been the entire time.

Sokka carefully stood, keeping his grip on Azula so that she would follow his lead and stand with him. She weakly stood, allowing Sokka to support her as he guided her back to the mat. She knelt down at the mat as Sokka slowly let go and stood back.

The healer continued his work as he spoke to Sokka, still keeping his attention on his work. "You know, she's very lucky to have a guy like you."

Sokka tensed as he said quickly yet again, "Oh, no, I'm uh… not with her."

Azula tensed as well and glared at the healer for a second before closing her eyes once more, the pain too potent and distracting for her to deal with ridiculous misunderstandings at the moment.

He looked up to see Ursa looking at him calmly and he said again even quicker, "I'm not with her," hoping that Azula's mother wouldn't get mad. She simply furrowed her eyebrows slightly, watching him carefully for a moment before turning back to the healer.

The healer finished healing her wound with a small bandage, then looked towards Ursa as he stood. He spoke to her for a few seconds as Sokka looked back at Azula, who still remained knelt, her eyes closed from the numbing pain.

He looked back to Ursa and the healer. The healer nodded, bowed slightly then moved towards the door. Ursa then looked towards Sokka, still frowning as she said, "Thank you. I'll take care of it from here."

Sokka looked back at Azula, then at Ursa, who truly did look thankful for him being there. Sokka nodded, then followed the healers lead, stepping outside the door to find the remaining guard waiting for when he would be ready to go back to his cell. Sokka took one last glance back into the room, then turned and allowed the guard to take him back.

The door closed and everything remained quiet. After a few moments of silence, Ursa carefully stepped towards Azula, kneeling down beside her once more. Azula remained still, her eyes closed and her jaw tense.

Ursa sat still for a moment, her hands in her lap as she watched her daughter and knew that she was in more pain than just physical. Her face became sad as she gently moved her hand towards Azula's face, lightly placing it on Azula's cheek. She felt Azula begin to faintly shake as she caressed her face more firmly now that Azula hadn't turned away.

Azula's eyes remained shut as she tried to stay still. Ursa kept her hand where it was as she said quietly, the sadness in her voice obvious, "Azula…"

She felt her tense suddenly, her shaking becoming more uncontrollable as tears suddenly slid down her face. Azula turned away from Ursa, her back now facing her.

Ursa closed her eyes, overwhelmed with the pain in her heart before looking back towards Azula, knowing that what happened next would be the hardest conversation she has ever had with her daughter.

**AN: Da da da DA! New chapter, and look, only a week. I have to admit, all your guys' reviews really motivated me to get this out to you guys asap ^^ So here you go, enjoy, and know that the Sokka/Azula will ensue quite soon. **

**And sorry for the uh… cliffy? If you can call it that lol. Not to tease, but this little convo between Azula and Ursa will be quite the chapter, I'm kinda excited to write it. **

**Oh and one more thing, I would like to dedicate this chapter to Anariel Tindomerel, who is probably my most faithful reviewer and fan, or at least the most enthusiastic XD Thank you! Your reviews always make my doubts disappear and motivate me to write the second I read them.**

**And thank you to all of you who reviewed! This quick update is for all you guys!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**Falter **

She paused before standing slowly then taking a few steps so that she was in front of her daughter once more. She knelt down again, Azula still slightly keeping her face turned away from her.

"Azula," Ursa said gently, "Why do you hate me?"

Azula tensed then opened her eyes, looking to her mother with a masked expression. "You're a traitor," she stated simply.

"I know that's not the real reason Azula, why do you hate me?" Her mother asked more firmly.

Azula quickly stated again with anger in her voice, "You're a traitor to the Fire Nation." She stood abruptly, turning away from Ursa and taking a few steps towards the wall.

Ursa frowned then stood up as well. She watched her daughter for a few seconds, noticing how tense she still was. She was standing how she always did: tense, upright, strong. Everything about her pointed out to anyone in the room that she was powerful, authoritative, and unbreakable. That was how she always stood; that was how she was always taught to stand.

She took a step towards Azula again, causing her to turn around and look at her. "Why do you hate me?"

"You are a traitor-"

"-Azula, tell me the real reason," Ursa took a few more steps, closing the gap between her and Azula.

Azula furrowed her eyebrows, replying almost immediately, "You were banished-"

"-Why do you hate me?" Ursa cut her off once more.

Azula became more tense, backing up slightly, unintentionally cornering herself against the wall. "You are a traitor." She glared, her voice becoming notably angry.

Ursa took another step towards Azula, causing her to fall back against the wall completely. She looked at her mother with an unsettled glance before glaring once more as Ursa grabbed her daughter by her wrists in a desperate manner.

"Azula, please, why do you hate me?" She asked again, her voice distressed.

Azula tensed even more so, her face revealing her disconcertion. "The Fire Nation banished-"

"-Azula," Ursa pressed.

"-You are a traitor- you killed the Fire-"

"Please, Azula," Her mother gripped her wrists more firmly.

Azula turned her face away as her voice began to falter, her manner obviously becoming troubled. "You- The Fire Nation-"

Ursa gently moved her hands from her daughters wrists to her face, gently pulling her to look at her straight in the eyes. "Azula, why do you hate me?" She almost whispered as she looked at her daughter with complete sorrow, her voice remaining firm.

"The Fire Nation-" Azula began to panic, her voice making it noticeable.

"Azula," Ursa kept her grip firm, forcing her daughter to look at her.

Azula became even more flustered as she couldn't turn away. "You killed the Fire Lord-"

"Tell me the real reason," Ursa's voice rose in desperation.

"-You were banished for the highest act of treason," Azula continued almost instinctively.

"Please, Azula!" Ursa began to shake slightly, her voice distressed.

"The- You're a traitor," Azula began almost as desperately as her mother.

"Why do you hate me?!"

"You're-"

"Why do you hate me?!" Ursa cut her off.

Azula gripped her mother's hands where they were holding her face and forcefully shoved them away as she broke, "Because you left me!"

She turned, pulling herself away from her mother by stepping aside. She kept her back turned, her body tense and shaking as she kept a hand on the wall for some sort of support as she had never once felt this vulnerable in her life.

Ursa remained still as she looked towards her daughter, her heart feeling cold as if it had just shattered and there was nothing left.

Azula shook uncontrollably as her hands clenched into fists. She closed her eyes, trying to control what she was feeling. She pushed her hand against the wall with as much strength as she had, willing herself to gain her control back.

She couldn't however. She gritted her teeth and held her breath, trying to force herself to stop crying as she felt the warm tears slide down her face.

Ursa shut her eyes, the pain becoming more sharp with every second. She had known of course that she hurt her daughter by leaving. She knew she should have been there. She knew the lack of her presence caused some sort of resentment. She hadn't realized just how much however. She hadn't known that her daughter hated her because she felt abandoned. Ursa had always known that she loved her children; so much so that that was the reasoning behind her leaving. It never occurred to her that Azula hadn't realized this.

She opened her eyes and looked at her daughter. "Azula, I never wanted to leave you," she whispered quietly.

"You turned your back on me," Azula almost growled under breath. "You left without even looking back," she turned and glared at her mother. "What gives you the damn right to be my mother now?" She shook as she felt all her past resentment rip out.

Ursa stood still as it was all she could do not to fall apart. "Azula, I may have not been there, but that does not mean I stopped loving you." Azula turned away again, unable to look at her mother.

Ursa continued, "I haven't been a mother to you these past years, but Azula, Ozai has _never _been a father to you."

She moved towards her daughter, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. Azula tensed, shrugging if off gently as she turned and faced her, still with a glare.

"Azula, I love you; I always have and I always will. You are my daughter. And I only want what's best for you." She watched her daughter's face as she said more firmly, "For you, Azula. Not what's best for a nation, but for you."

Azula glared for a moment before shifting her eyes away from her mother's face. She continued to glare, but at the wall now as she couldn't find any words to say.

She wanted more than anything to hate her mother. Everything was that much easier when she thought her mother didn't care for her. It was easier when she knew what to do- what she was told to do. A part of her wanted so badly to believe that what her mother was saying was true, and that made her angry. She hated how she almost felt like she needed her mother to love her. Because she didn't need her to.

She looked back at her mother, a new determined glare on her face. She wouldn't allow herself to believe something so foolish. She was locked up in her mother's prison. She didn't know what her mother wanted, but it wasn't what was best for her. She had a job to do; an obligation to fill. She was the Princess of the Fire Nation; not the daughter of the once Fire Lady.

Ursa frowned as she saw the change in expression on Azula's face. She had put her mask back on.

Her voice became sad again as she said, "Azula, please. I care about you."

Azula tensed as she said with distance in her voice, "No, Mother, you don't. You care what I can do. That's all anyone ever cares about." She said firmly as she looked towards the door, wishing to leave.

"That's not true."

"Then why am I locked up," She looked back at her mother as she more of stated than questioned.

"What about the boy then?"

"What boy?" Azula furrowed her eyebrows, completely thrown off.

"The boy who saved your life today. You're the reason he's still locked up here with you."

Azula tensed as she glared at her mother. She knew Sokka had been with her when they came back, but she thought he had just carried her for some reason. Either her mother was lying, or the boy had some reason behind saving her. She clenched her fists, completely at a loss for what to say.

"There are people who care for you Azula, and not just what you can do."

Azula refused to look at her mother. She hated being caught off guard and the whole situation had her completely confused. There was no reason the boy actually cared, she knew that. So why had he saved her?

Ursa paused, watching her daughter become more frustrated. She suddenly realized then that the boy hadn't been a friend of hers or anything of the sort. Azula's reaction revealed to her that the boy wasn't _suppose _to care for her. She also realized then that the boy would be more important than she could have known.

She took Azula's moment of confusion to say, "Please, just consider what I have said Azula. And from now on, you may move about freely in this building. Your friends as well."

Azula looked back at her mother, furrowing her eyebrows as if she had misunderstood her.

"Unfortunately, I can't let you leave just yet."

Azula glared at Ursa, becoming more angry than grateful. What was her mother playing at? She of course would have to know that letting Azula roam about the building only increased the possibility of escape. Why would she allow for that? Azula clenched her fists, becoming increasingly frustrated that she couldn't find the motives behind anyone's actions.

"I'll have someone escort you to your new room," She said softly as she moved towards the door. Azula remained still as she continued to glare at her mother. Ursa paused at the door before opening it and turned to look at her daughter, her expression completely sincere, "I'm sorry Azula. I never meant to hurt you. I didn't leave because I wanted to, I left because I had to."

And without waiting for a reply, she opened the door, letting the two guards outside step in.

She told them where to take Azula, and with quite a bit of hesitation, they carried out her request by leading Azula down the hall.

Azula turned a looked back at her mother for a moment, still completely confused and untrusting. Her mother only watched her leave with a frown.

Azula growled then turned back to the guard in front of her.

"Take me to the cell," she commanded.

The guard looked back at her, furrowing his eyebrows, "Uh…"

"Take me to the cell first," Azula commanded again, clearly very serious that she would go whether or not he came with- as she was free to roam about.

The guard faltered for a moment, then said, "This way."

He lead her down another hall, taking her to the cell hold.

When they reached her cell, she hardly waited for the guard to even open the door for her before she pushed him aside and stormed through.

She saw both Ty Lee and Sokka standing, obviously unable to just sit there after all that had happened.

"Azula!" Ty Lee shouted as she went to rush towards her friend.

Azula didn't even acknowledge Ty Lee as she walked straight towards Sokka, glaring at him straight in the eye. She came up close to him, aggressive in her manner.

"Why did you save me?" She growled at him.

Sokka stood still, a little unnerved by the closeness as he said completely taken aback, "Uh…"

"Why did you save me?" She asked again, more forcefully and angry.

"I- what?" Sokka became flustered, completely confused.

"You saved me. Why?" Azula glared at him, determined to find the intention behind his actions.

Sokka frowned, not knowing what to say but feeling that he needed to say something, and quick. "…You were going to die…" He said hesitantly, thinking that that answer should have been a given.

Azula remained silent as she continued to glare at him, trying to find some sort of reaction out of the boy that would make sense to her. She couldn't however. He just stared at her anxiously.

She clenched her fists in anger as she turned abruptly, leaving the cell. Sokka watched her in complete bewilderment, then looked at Ty Lee who was completely lost as well.

**AN: So… not really sure what to say here. It may seem a little confusing, but Ursa is (at least I always picture her as) a very smart person. **

**Sorry for the long update. I work in retail, and I'm sure you can imagine why I would have been busy. **

**Thanks for reading, and reviews would very much be appreciated =)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

**Losing Sense**

Azula paced in her room now, despite the throbbing in her head. That stupid boy absolutely infuriated her. She stopped, glaring at the wall in front of her. She knew he had to have a motive for saving her. She just knew.

There was no other possible explanation. But exactly what was it that he wanted from her? Did he think that by saving her life she was somehow going to repay him? Maybe he thought that she would be obligated to spare him and his friends because he came back for her.

That was just it though. He came back. He could have got away, free to escape to his friends where he wouldn't even have needed to save her. He could have just not saved her- thus eliminating the main problem altogether.

Azula clenched her teeth in frustration. It just didn't make any sense. She growled as she turned sharply, causing a jolt of pain to the side of her head. She didn't know what this boy was up to, but she would find out.

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She moved down the hall, a dull headache constantly pressing at the side of her head. No one had bothered her and she had awoken to find it had been daylight for some time already. She came to a small courtyard, looking to see if she could find anyone there.

She was saved the trouble of searching however as she heard someone yell her name from behind. She shut her eyes for a moment from the pain the loud noises issued in her head, then turned to find Ty Lee bounding towards her, full of excitement.

"Azula!" She repeated as she got closer. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"I'm fine," Azula responded rather coldly. "Where is everyone?"

Only pausing for a moment with a slight frown, Ty Lee answered, "We just finished eating. They thought you'd be awake by now and told me to come get you," She watched as Azula only turned her head slightly, glaring down the hall Ty Lee had come from. "Are you hungry?"

"No," Azula looked back at Ty Lee, her eyes impassive.

"Really, Azula, you should eat something," Ty Lee said quietly with a frown.

Azula glared for a moment before turning away, looking back towards the courtyard. "I'm fine," she replied bitterly. "Was my mother there?"

After a moment of hesitation Ty Lee answered, "Yeah, she was the one who told me to come get you." Azula made no reply, but Ty Lee thought she saw her jaw tense ever so slightly. "You know Azula, she really does care for you," she said softly.

Azula immediately tensed, her body becoming noticeably rigid. She turned her head slowly and looked at Ty Lee with the most unapproachable look she could manage. Ty Lee froze, unsure of what to expect.

Without moving from her glare, Azula growled under her breath, "My mother does not care for me, Ty Lee." She then moved towards her slightly, making her point. "Look around you. We're stuck here because she wants to stop me, just like everyone else in this war."

She held her glare for a moment, keeping her eyes locked with Ty Lee's. Ty Lee didn't dare move. She knew Ursa was a touchy subject, but she hadn't known the intensity it was going to evoke this morning. Of course, Ty Lee knew Azula well enough to know that something was going on in her head that prevented her from accepting this notion. Whatever it was, it was obviously a constant struggle to convince herself of its truth if she was acting this way.

Azula kept her jaw tense as she turned from Ty Lee, making her way down the hall. Ty Lee followed, her instinct telling her to press the matter.

"But you're alive Azula, I mean that's good right? You could have died if it wasn't for your mom, and Sokka of course."

Azula stopped, spinning to face Ty Lee. "What?" She growled. Never had Ty Lee mentioned the boy using his name. Using names was personal, friendly almost.

Ty Lee stood still, sensing she had said something wrong.

"What has my Mother said to you?" Azula glared. Ty Lee looked at her with wide eyes, not understanding where she was going with this. Azula furrowed her eyebrows, remaining tense. "What has she said to the boy? What exactly were you guys talking about this morning before you so graciously came to find me?" She continued with a hint of anger in her voice.

"Azula…" Ty Lee cautiously started. She suddenly understood where the impulsive anger came from. It wasn't simply just a matter of Ursa caring for Azula. It was a matter of trust. She thought Ty Lee was siding with Ursa and the boy. "I didn't mean it like that," Ty Lee began, a little flustered, "I'm your friend, you know that, right? I was just saying…"

Azula kept her stare firm, seeming to consider what Ty Lee had just said. She turned away again, gaining back her calm composure as she started down the hall once more. Ty Lee paused for a moment before following. She decided not to say anything more as they walked.

Azula kept her face expressionless as they moved. Her mother was obviously up to something if she had Ty Lee trying to vouch for her now. It was a little unexpected to find that Ty Lee would side with Ursa. It made her angry, but in truth, Ty Lee had the right idea. Azula knew that there would be no chance of getting out of this prison given the side of the war she was on. If, however, Ursa felt that Azula was on the right side, she would be allowed to leave. It was merely a matter of convincing her mother of that lie, and if there was anything Azula was especially skilled at, it was lying.

It didn't take her long to find a guard, considering she was being watched almost constantly. He told where to find her mother, and within moments she had already parted ways with Ty Lee and was at Ursa's door. She stood there for a moment, her face becoming entirely composed. Without even knocking, she gently pushed the door open and remained standing in the doorway.

Her mother looked up from where she had been reading a scroll of some sort moments before. "Azula," She greeted carefully, despite the rudeness of her daughter's entry. "Is everything alright?" She asked with a note of concern.

"Everything is fine, Mother," Azula responded methodically, "I was merely hoping to have a word with you." She stood in the doorway still, her arms crossed and her face void of emotion.

Ursa paused for a slight moment as she looked at Azula, then folded over her scroll in compliance with her daughter's request. She knew what Azula was doing, and she had been expecting it entirely. She folded her hands over the scroll as she met Azula's cool, collected manner with her own. "Of course, Azula"

Without breaking her appearance, Azula stepped into the room, then turned, shutting the door smoothly behind her. She paused, before turning back to look at her mother. Both looked towards each other, and for a split second, there seemed to be a hesitant quality on both ends. As if both had broke their façade in a moment of honesty, without walls, to acknowledge the inescapable connection they shared as daughter and mother. Just as quickly as the moment came, it passed, and their game began.

Azula looked pointedly towards the floor with her eyes before stepping forward. She moved into the room with poise, then sat down across from her mother. She looked back up at her mother's gaze, and held her stare firm.

"I've been thinking about what you said," Azula started. "And much of it seems to be true," She said coolly without breaking eye contact.

Ursa's expression didn't change as she replied indifferently, "Really?"

"Yes," Azula shifted her eyes and looked to the side. She knew she couldn't appear confident towards her mother if she was admitting to being wrong. "I think you may be right, Mother. About a lot of things." She furrowed her eyebrows, as she let her jaw tense slightly.

"Like what?" Ursa genuinely asked.

"Like my father," Azula looked back towards Ursa, her expression tense.

"I see," Ursa replied quietly. She looked at Azula for a moment, contemplating on what to say next. "And me?"

Azula remained tense, her eyes still fixed on her mother's. For once, Azula had to take a moment to think about what she should say. She was asking if Azula not only believed that Ozai truly did not love her, but that Ursa, on the other hand, truly did. Of course, she knew that wasn't true, but she needed to convince her mother that she really did agree with her. It would be foolish to say she didn't believe that of her mother while also saying that she was right. If Azula really did believe what her mother said, that would insinuate that she trusted her, and that was exactly what she needed her mother to believe of her.

"Honestly Mother," Azula paused for a moment before continuing carefully, "I don't think you could ever lie to me about such a thing."

Ursa watched her daughter closely, a small frown beginning on her face. "You're right, Azula, I couldn't," She said sincerely before saying much more softly, "But that doesn't mean you believe it."

Azula felt her jaw clench as she held her mother's stare. She couldn't seem to find anything to say.

Ursa then continued as she looked towards her daughter with an air of disappointment. "Azula, I know you a lot better than you think." She paused for a second, then sighed. "I would know when my own daughter is lying to me."

"I'm not lying, Mother," Azula voiced strongly.

"Yes you are," Ursa replied back just as strongly. "There is no way you would be telling me the truth. You literally could not be. At least not yet."

Azula felt her jaw clench. She could do nothing but glare as she knew it would be pointless to continue her lie at this point. She hated to admit it, but it surprised her how well Ursa knew that side of her.

"Azula," Ursa began with a much softer tone. "I really do love you. I am your mother and that will never change." She frowned as she looked towards her daughter, her eyes saying just as much as her words. "But there are things about you that you don't see in yourself."

Azula found that she couldn't look away.

"I know you're not telling the truth because honestly Azula," Ursa continued as she shook her head slightly, "You can't understand that I love you. You don't know what that is."

Ursa still frowned at her daughter, while Azula remained frozen. Her whole body was tensed, her eyes dark and hard. Neither said anything for some time, but merely stared at each other in some sort of silent argument.

"Tell me," Ursa said, "Do you know why that boy saved your life yesterday? Your enemy?"

Azula felt her hands clench and her jaw tighten. She could only glare at her mother as she had no clue what the answer to that question was. Ursa noticed the strong intensity Azula felt from the subject and knew she didn't know where to begin her answer.

"I'm sorry, Azula, but I can't let you leave," Her mother said with a frown and a sense of finality to the conversation. Azula watched as Ursa began to pull the scroll out from underneath her hands again. "I have some things to look over," She began to say. She paused then, and looked towards her daughter, her face expressing some sort of unsaid grief. She looked as if she was about to say something, thought better of it, then simply said again, "I'm sorry, Azula."

Azula stood, understanding her dismissal. She remained still, looking at her mother with cold eyes, knowing there was nothing more she could say. Just as smoothly as she had done before, she turned and made her exit, shutting the door sharply behind her. She paused outside the door, her anger beginning to make its presence more known. Her hands clenched into fists and her desire to appear composed was no longer a concern.

Of course she hadn't expected her mother to believe her lie, but she had thought it would have only required a few more conversations worth of convincing. Never had she expected her mother to immediately discern the truth from her lies. She had read her so thoroughly that she hadn't even had a chance. What Azula couldn't understand however, was how she had known so quickly that her daughter was lying to her. It wasn't as if she had been around to know Azula that well. Not only that, but she had said there were things Azula could not see in herself.. There was absolutely nothing Azula didn't know of herself though, and that she was sure of. She knew exactly who she was. It only convinced herself that her mother was even more wrong. She based her assumption of Azula's lie on love. Azula really did not care that she didn't understand love. It was a weak and wasteful thing that really served no purpose. Her mother was foolish to follow such things. However, it was the basis of Azula's lack of convincement, and therefore proved to play a much more vital role than she had first thought.

She continued to walk quickly down the hall, her brow lowered in thought and frustration. Just then she caught sight of someone down the hall to her left, and with a quick glance, she recognized it as the boy. Her jaw suddenly tightened as she abruptly changed directions and moved towards the boy. His back was turned to her as he walked down the hall, unaware of the princess behind him.

She came up behind him, only giving him a moment to turn around at the sound of her steps before she grabbed him fiercely by the front of his shirt, pushing him back into the wall beside them. He gave a low grunt in response as he was completely caught by surprise.

Before he could say anything, Azula pushed him more firmly against the wall as she growled, "You're going to tell me what's going on here."

"What?" Sokka managed to mutter as he tried to pry her hands off.

Azula glared for a second, then glanced down the hall. She turned back to Sokka and without releasing her grip, stepped back and pulled him along a few more steps towards a nearby door. She pulled it open and after seeing that it was a vacant room, drug Sokka in and shut the door.

She then released her hold as she paused, keeping her glare fixed on the boy. Sokka stumbled forward into the room, then turned and looked at her with a bewildered expression.

"Why did you save my life back there?" Azula asked harshly as she remained standing in front of the door.

It took Sokka a moment to realize that she was still asking him this. His expression turned from one of shock and confusion to that of disbelief and exasperation. Never had he gone through an ordeal like this by simply helping someone.

"What is it that you want from me?" Azula pressed on through clenched teeth, her frustration building.

"Look, I don't want anything from you," Sokka shot back.

"You're lying," Azula glared. "You wouldn't have saved my life if you didn't want something in return. Now tell me," She growled.

"I don't want anything!" Sokka almost shouted, his own frustration building. "Look, you needed help. You were going to die if I didn't do anything. I'm not going to just let you die."

"And why not?" Azula stepped forward, her glare becoming more intense.

"I don't know!" Sokka shouted back. "I don't know, okay?" He paused as his tone became more soft, his own confusion taking hold. "It was just… the right thing to do okay? You don't just let people die like that, no matter who they are."

Azula glared at him for a moment, then said in a low voice, "People die in this war everyday."

"Doesn't mean that they should," Sokka replied, his voice softening. He looked at her now with a slight frown, his frustration seeming to fade away. "Look, I don't know what you want me to say," She turned her head and glared off in a different direction. "I mean, why can't you just accept that I saved your life because it was the right thing to do?"

"Because it doesn't make any sense!" She looked back up him, her temper still on edge.

"Does everything have to make sense?" Sokka yelled exasperatedly.

"Yes!" Azula yelled back, her calm composure completely forgotten. She clenched her hands into fists again as she moved from her spot, unable to remain still. She moved past Sokka, glaring away from him as she walked towards the far side of the room. None of it made sense. She was always able to make sense of everything, but this was absolutely far from rational. There were no reasons or explanations. How was she was suppose to just accept it as true? There had to be a reason. There had to be some motivation. She stopped, still glaring at nothing in particular as long as it wasn't at the boy. The anger still pulsing through her.

"Not everything has to make sense!" Sokka almost pleaded. "Most things don't make sense, okay?" His temper softening. "I mean, I should hate you," He looked away, his tone becoming confused and pained, "I should want you to die."

Her anger suddenly seemed to collapse at his words. She knew most people hated her, and of course wanted her to die. She was very aware of that fact, and nor did it bother her at all. It was only natural that they would, she was a very powerful person. What she hadn't expected was for someone not to, when they surely should. She turned slowly and looked at him, her eyes strong as she considered what he had just said. He hadn't actually said that he didn't, but she was definitely smart enough to understand his implication. And he was right, it didn't make sense.

"… You don't?" Azula asked carefully, her voice low.

Sokka looked back up at her, his expression strained. "… I don't know," He began quietly. His brow furrowed in frustration as he looked away again. "No, I mean… I don't know."

He remained looking away from her, his confusion and frustration creased on his forehead. It bothered him how much he knew he was suppose to hate her, and how much he knew he really didn't. Not that he could say he liked her, because he didn't. But he knew he didn't hate her. Azula continued to look at him, her eyes fading in their anger.

"…Why wouldn't you?" She asked, barely above a whisper. Sokka looked back up at her, and found he couldn't look away. She was no longer angry and hostile. She only looked confused and in some ways a little upset. Her eyes held a hint of anguish that Sokka couldn't quite place.

He held her stare for a few moments, unable to speak at first. "I…" He began weakly, "I don't think… you're entirely what you think you are, or what you're suppose to be. I don't know," He became a little frustrated as he wasn't completely sure of what he was trying to say.

"But I mean, you've been saying how much your mother hates you, and I was expecting to be sitting here rotting in a cell forever, but we're not," He looked at her now with a strong stare. "She took care of you, she saved your life. I just don't understand…" His eyebrows furrowed slightly, "I don't understand how you honestly think she hates you. I've seen how she cares for you, and well…" He trailed off slightly, his own words seeming to try and convince himself as well.

"I mean there has to be a reason she does. And if you're wrong about your mother, then, maybe…" He looked away for a moment, before looking back at her. He didn't know what else to say, and he wasn't even sure if what he had just said made any sense. But then again, nothing was seeming to make sense at the moment. He just knew that things weren't entirely what they seemed to be anymore.

She looked at him still, her stare never moving since he began his explanation. Her eyes still held that hint of anguish, and her jaw now tightened as it became a little more potent. There was nothing she could think to say to the boy, and nor did she even know what to feel. She tensed as she felt a combination of emotions she had never felt before. She was angry and confused. She was hurt, and even sad, and none of it made sense to her.

Her eyes shifted away from him for a moment before coming back. Her jaw clenched as she felt her muscles tense. She then stepped forward, her walk strong as she moved past Sokka. She looked away from him then, her glare kept firmly on the door. She moved by him smoothly, then pulled the door open and left without another word. Sokka watched her leave, a frown now on his face.

**AN: I cannot apologize enough for how long this took me. I didn't even realize how long it had been. My first update of 2009, and it's already May. I'm so sorry. **

**This chapter was really difficult for me to write for some reason. It took me a while to figure out what I wanted, and I'm not entirely sure of it, even now. Just kind of took a leap I think. **

**I hope you guys will continue to read, I'm sorry this took me so long, but the story is definitely not dead. Reviews would very much be appreciated, they really do keep me writing, and thank you. **

**MJ**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

**Impulse**

She stood in her room now, the only place she knew she would be alone. Her jaw tensed as she continued to glare at everything around her. She was angry and upset, but what made it all worse was that she had no concrete explanation as to why.

Part of it being at her failed attempt to convince her mother of some ridiculous lie. That, however, was directed at herself more than anything. She had completely overestimated herself, and completely underestimated her mother. Her ability to manipulate situations around her had always been her forte, and because of that, she had put entirely too much confidence in her own ability. She had miscalculated the situation completely. She had hardly put any effort towards her convincement, being that she really didn't expect her mother to know her in the least bit. Also considering that Azula really held no respect towards her mother, and in truth that was a mistake, because obviously she didn't hold her mother in high enough regard to be able to recognize what she was up against.

She couldn't even really be angry at her mother. She did resent the things her mother had said, mostly because she couldn't tell what her mother wanted from her either. As to what to expect, Azula had no idea, and that frustrated her. No one in this damn place was making sense. She had always been able to figure people out- their motives and reasons behind their actions and thoughts. Everything here was so out of place.

Azula had thought that Ursa merely wanted her to switch sides. That was understandable, considering Azula held one of the most vital positions in this war. But after today, it didn't appear that that was what Ursa desired. Her remarks had nothing to do with the war, or any of its issues. Everything was directed on Azula. Given, a switch in sides would be the outcome if Azula did move towards what her mother wanted of her, but that didn't seem to be the intention of what Ursa wanted for her.

The only thing that made her truly angry was herself. This just wasn't like her, and it frustrated her beyond belief what this was doing to her. She had always been the logical one. The one to make calculated decisions based on reason alone. That was just it though, everything about this entire situation lacked the reasoning Azula was so accustomed to. She didn't know how she was suppose to make any sort of decision about anything. Never had she been the one to decide by what felt right. Not that she was incapable of doing so.

Her mother had based her argument on love, and Azula's understanding of such things. In truth, Azula was not completely ignorant, she simply chose a long time ago to permanently eradicate that part of her life. Perhaps, at some point, she may have possibly had an idea of these things, or maybe a desire to. But she had long since trained herself to let go, and never look back. She wouldn't acknowledge these things to be honest, because to her, they were not. She had found no truth in the aspects they held, and therefore pushed them away.

Then there was the boy. Azula let out a low growl as she turned her head. Never had anyone been so confusing to her. Why wouldn't he hate her? She had given him more then enough reasons to hate her. Yet, he had still saved her life, and even told her that he did not hate her. He had some sort of idea that she wasn't who he thought. So then what did he think she was?

Her jaw tightened. She had been unable to find any sort of reason of why he would save her, and was now left with only the one explanation he had given her. She just couldn't understand though. He should hate her, like he said. What made her more angry though was what she felt when she found out that he didn't. She didn't even know what it was, but it left her uncertain. It had caught her completely off guard, and that never happened.

She had no clue what to feel towards this boy, and it honestly scared her. She wanted to hate him, but at the same time, it gave her an unsettling feeling, as if she would be wrong to. Her hands clenched into fists. Nothing felt like it was in her control anymore.

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It had been a few days since Azula had spoken to Ursa and Sokka. She had secluded herself for the most part since then. Only eating when everyone else was gone, and for the most part staying in the room that had been given to her. Ty Lee had tried talking to her a few times, but would receive no more than a few short replies. Understanding that she needed to be alone, Ty Lee had kept a short distance, and had given her space.

Ty Lee had spoken to Sokka a little, though their conversations were never anything of importance. Neither dared to speak of Azula, and as Ursa was usually busy, they hardly spoke to her either. It almost seemed to be understood that matters were tense, and it depended much on Azula's decisions as to what would happen.

Sokka walked slowly down the hall, not having any sort of destination. He kept his eyes down on the ground in front of him, his brow slightly furrowed. He didn't know what to think anymore. He knew now what he had said to Azula was true, and the strange part was that he found it didn't really bother him like it probably should have. It only left him confused and a little apprehensive, as now he didn't really know what to feel. He didn't hate her, he didn't like her, and his feelings towards her certainly weren't neutral. He just didn't know.

He turned a corner, entering the small courtyard. The sun was out, making it seem oddly a little more peaceful and relaxed than it actually was. He had thought the courtyard to be abandoned at first, until he suddenly came upon a figure standing alone near one of the few trees. Sokka then saw that it was Azula, and stopped. He paused for a second, realizing that she had not yet noticed him, or at least wasn't acknowledging him.

"Sorry," Sokka mumbled quickly, feeling that he had interrupted her somehow. "I was just…" She still hadn't turned to look at him, her profile remaining still. Her stare was low to the ground, and her thoughts seemed to be elsewhere as her eyes gave a distant gaze. Sokka didn't bother finishing his explanation as it seemed she really wasn't listening to him anyway. After a last awkward pause of deciding whether or not to say something, Sokka turned and made to walk in a different route so as to avoid Azula.

"Everything that you said," Azula suddenly said, causing Sokka to stop and turn. "Did you mean it?" She finally turned her head, and was now looking at Sokka, her expression almost jaded.

Sensing that Azula was in a much more controlled and calm state than when they had last spoke, he felt his tension ease a little. "…I think." He said a bit hesitantly. "I mean, yeah." He said a little more strongly.

She remained staring at him, her expression never changing. She had known he had to have been telling the truth, but still found herself wanting to question it. She then furrowed her eyebrows, a small frown forming on her face as she turned her face away again.

"I've tried to think of every possible motive and reason you would have. But I can't find anything," She spoke as if she was thinking aloud. It was silent then, neither saying anything as Azula continued to stare in the same spot, her eyebrows still creased. "I just can't figure you out," She said after a while, a note of exasperation in her voice.

"Can't figure me out?" Sokka said rather quickly, "I can't figure _you _out." He looked at her with an incredulous look. She turned and looked at him, her face expressing her frustration.

"At least what I do makes sense," She replied almost harshly.

"Really?" Sokka said sarcastically. "So killing innocent people makes sense? Fighting this war because someone tells you to, makes sense?" Sokka tensed, his remark coming out a little more biting than he had intended.

Her eyes became cold again as she glared. She looked away, then growled, "I'm the Princess." She turned back towards him, "What else am I suppose to do?" She glared at him still, her eyes hardening.

Sokka stopped, not knowing what to say. He stared back at her, knowing he wouldn't be able to give her an answer. He felt his jaw tense as he felt the odd desire to give her something though, any sort of answer that would suffice. Her glare then softened, and the tension passed as her eyes looked down towards the ground. Sokka kept his stare on her however. He took a small step forward, causing her eyes to look back up in his direction.

Just then, they both felt the ground shake below them as a loud crash was heard, not too far away. They looked towards each other with wide eyes as the commotion seemed to carry on. Azula then ran past Sokka, moving faster than he had been expecting. He then turned and followed quickly after her. She ran out of the courtyard, then turned the corner quickly, heading down the hall. Sokka turned the corner, seeing Azula already half down the hall. He hurried after her, not stopping to think about what might be happening.

She then turned another corner ahead of him, and was out of sight. Sokka kept running, trying to gain on her. He came upon the corner and turned, sliding to a stop as he almost ran into Azula, who had stopped as well.

Looking up, Sokka froze as he felt fear fall through his entire body. More Fire Nation soldiers than he could count were in front of him now, the commotion almost entirely over as they had easily taken over the building with their amount of numbers and unexpected arrival. He then felt sharp hands grab him roughly by the arms.

"Got another one!" He heard a rough voice shout. He growled as he tried to pull away, realizing it was useless to try. There were already two fully trained Fire Nation soldiers holding him in place, getting ready to tie his hands behind his back.

He looked up at Azula, who had turned. She was looking at him now, her expression more shocked than anything else.

"Princess Azula," A guard had come up to her, trying to gain her attention. She seemed to not to hear him however as she stared at Sokka for a moment longer. "Princess," The guard tried again.

"Yes," Azula growled, turning towards the guard, her brow creasing as she began to comprehend the situation at hand.

"We came as soon as possible. We are currently apprehending all prisoners who remain alive."

Azula merely nodded as she turned away, her jaw tightening. Her attention then turned elsewhere as more commotion was heard. She saw Ursa, held firmly by the arms by two guards who pulled her into the room. Ursa looked at her daughter, her manner calm as she didn't bother to try and struggle.

"Sir," One of the guards holding Ursa said to another. The guard who appeared to be in charge of matters turned and looked at their prisoner.

"It can't be…" The guard mumbled in astonishment.

"It is," The other confirmed.

The guard in command paused for a second in disbelief, then tensed as he was determined to carry out the demands his position called for. "If this really is the late Fire Lady, which I do believe it is, she is under the highest act of treason. It is ordered she be immediately executed upon capture," He kept his voice firm. He looked back up at the guards holding her, then gave a quick nod as if to carry out orders.

Azula tensed as she stepped forward. "You will do no such thing," She growled almost angrily. Her whole body remained tense as she glared at the man. She had felt the sudden impulse to do something, and went with it, knowing that if she didn't, it would be too late. She could always decide later what to do.

The guard turned, "But Princess-"

"She is to be taken prisoner, do I make myself clear?"

"But Princess, it's been ordered from the Fire Lord since her banishment for immediate execution."

"And I'm ordering you not to," Azula glared at the man, "or would you care to explain to my father how you disobeyed a direct order from the Princess?"

"Princess," The guard started nervously.

"You are taking orders from me now. My father will want to see all prisoners before execution. Especially the late Fire Lady." She kept her glare hard, making her order final.

"…Yes, Princess." The guard turned, nodding towards the other guards. They proceeded to then carry out all of the prisoners, their ambush being complete.

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Azula stood at the head of war balloon fleet now, already heading back towards the Fire Nation. Her body was still tense. She had no clue what would happen when they got back, but a part of her felt the decision to keep Ursa alive would be very risky. She knew her father wouldn't necessarily mind that Azula kept her alive. After all, it was under the impression of merely delaying the execution. It was what would happen later that kept Azula tense.

She hadn't even known entirely why she had acted on her impulse. At the moment however, it was impossible for her to think straight.

"Azula…"

Azula turned, hearing a soft voice whisper from behind. Ty Lee looked at her, frowning. Ty Lee hadn't seen the entire ambush, but the guards had quickly located her and brought her on board. She hadn't spoken to Azula until now however, now that everyone had left to their stations, leaving them alone.

Ty Lee moved to place a hand on her friend's shoulder. Azula stepped back however, as she said almost too formally, "Someone alerted the near Fire Nation embassy of our capture a few days ago. They sent a messenger hawk to my father, and took immediate action."

Ty Lee frowned even more so, knowing that Azula was acting professional as a way of hiding what she was feeling. Ty Lee simply nodded, saying nothing more.

She kept silent for a few more moments, watching as Azula kept her tense posture, her stare never leaving the front of the helm. After a while of tensed silence, Azula finally turned and looked at Ty Lee, her eyes betraying how troubled she really was.

"What are you going to do, Azula?" Ty Lee whispered, her face becoming sad.

Azula continued to stare at Ty Lee for a moment, her jaw tightening. "I don't know," She replied before quickly turning away. She turned and walked pointedly out, leaving Ty Lee standing alone. Ty Lee frowned, but decided not to follow. She would talk to Azula later, when there was no chance of anyone else overhearing.

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Azula moved quickly down the steps, her walk strong. She was still as tense as before, her face now set in a glare as she moved forward with a determined pace. She moved past a guard, hardly acknowledging him as she moved past.

She came to one of the lower levels, then moved towards a set of doors that were carefully guarded.

She stopped in front of the guards. "I need to speak to the prisoner," She glared.

The guard immediately stepped aside, and opened the door for Azula.

She stepped in, the door shutting behind her. She then turned and faced her mother. She froze then, as she realized she had no idea what to say. She hadn't known what she was going to do before coming down here, and nor did she know now. She had only felt that she needed to come down here and see for herself that her mother really was a prisoner aboard.

Ursa looked up, her face tiresome and distressing. "Azula," She said softly.

Azula felt her breathing quicken, and her hands clench as she shut her eyes, turning away from her mother. It was all real.

**AN: Very sudden I know, but it's suppose to be. And yay for quick update! This didn't take me half a year to write! Haha, again sorry about that… **

**Anyway, I would also like to thank Bluetiger real quick, who noted some things from the earlier chapter. I forget that you guys can't read my mind sometimes lol, so I clarified a few points earlier in this chapter. So thank you for pointing that out, sometimes I just forget that I really need to explain my thought process entirely. **

**I hope you guys will continue to read, I have a lot planned out for this story, and hopefully this chapter wasn't too dreadfully awful as I feel it is XP **

**Reviews would very much be appreciated, I would love to hear what you guys think. And thank you for reading. **

**MJ**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

**Deep Through My Veins  
**

Her jaw tightened as she opened her eyes again, her look becoming cold. She looked towards her mother, now sitting behind bars, and searched for words to say. There was nothing she could say however, as she didn't even know what to think. Her body remained tense, her face strong. She had always refused to show weakness of any kind, and this was no different.

"Azula," Ursa began again.

"We'll be arriving within a few days time," Azula replied before her mother could say anything else. She kept her tone formal and distant. She then turned, her back now towards her mother as she gave a light knock on the door, signaling to the guard her desire to leave.

"I'm sorry, Azula," She heard her mother say softly, almost guiltily. The door opened, and Azula stepped out, her hands clenched and her jaw firm as she didn't look back. The door closed shut and Azula moved away, unable to look anywhere else aside from the floor in front of her.

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Sokka glared down at the ground, his eyes hard. His jaw remained taut as he kept his stare fixed. He knew it had been foolish to think any different of her. Now he was headed towards the Fire Nation, imprisoned yet again. Of course there was no other side to the Princess. Like she said, that's what she was; a Princess. And she would be no different. Now Sokka was trapped, and surely had no hope of escape, especially now. The last place the Avatar would search for him would be the Fire Nation, the very place they had so recently fled.

How could he have been so stupid to think there might have been something else. He had almost thought for a moment, or rather felt that she could be different. That everything about her was just the cause of something she couldn't help. She didn't appear to want to change that however, as obviously he was now in prison and her mother as well.

What bothered him the most however, was just how much it actually pained him now that he was back in prison. It should be expected of Azula to put him right back in here. Honestly though, he couldn't help but feel hurt; betrayed almost. And for him to feel that way, it meant he must have expected something else from her other than what was handed to him now. And that bothered him more. That he had actually wanted to trust her.

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Azula moved down the hall at a quick pace, her thoughts struggling to stay together. She had gone to the vacant boarding chamber, free to safely train and firebend in hopes of distracting herself from the current situation. She had found however that it had really not helped at all. It only seemed to fuel her frustration as every punch, swing, and movement seemed to burn more heatedly with a fire much more furious than usual.

Her brow furrowed in concentration as she made her way back towards her own chambers. She opened the door, shutting it with a snap behind her. Turning towards her dresser, she stepped lightly, not even noticing the company she now had sitting on her bed, loyally waiting for her return.

"Azula?" Ty Lee brought the attention to herself, her voice filled with a note of concern in her bewilderment that Azula had not noticed her upon entering.

Azula quickly turned towards her friend, jumping slightly as she realized she was not alone. Her brow creased much like Ty Lee's as she also found it slightly concerning and extremely off of her not to take notice of her surroundings.

"Ty Lee," Azula spoke, her voice a little unsteady. "What are you doing?"

"I was waiting for you. You seemed upset when you left earlier," Ty Lee frowned. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Azula almost growled.

Ty Lee looked towards her friend, her eyes becoming sad. She waited a moment, then whispered quietly, "You're not going to let them kill your mother… are you, Azula?"

Azula kept her eyes on Ty Lee, her look now cold. Her jaw became tense and her lips tightened into a line as she felt a touch of anger hit her. Ty Lee frowned even more so at the look she was receiving and, sinking back slightly, continued, her voice timid. "Azula?"

She hardly moved as she kept her stare firm. Then, in a low voice, with a certain amount of hostility, "What else am I suppose to do, Ty Lee?"

Azula thought she heard her friend mumble a quiet 'I don't know,' before looking down in her lap, her eyes avoiding Azula's now. It remained quiet and tense, and after a few moments, Azula turned her glare elsewhere. She had nothing to say to the girl, because honestly, she had no idea what she could say.

"You know…" She heard Ty Lee's quiet voice, "I know you don't like talking about it,"

Azula turned her head, glaring pointedly at the girl. "Ty, don't," She growled in a low voice.

"But… your mother," Ty Lee continued nervously.

"I said don't, Ty Lee," Azula's voice rose, becoming a little more threatening. She knew where the conversation was headed, and it was something she couldn't bear to face, let alone hear said aloud to her, as if it was fact.

"But she really does care for you, Azula," Ty Lee said desperately, looking to her friend with a pleading look.

Azula's muscles tensed, her shoulders becoming rigid. She felt her teeth clench as she tried to keep her temper under control. Ty Lee was her friend; her only friend really, and she knew it wouldn't help to take her anger out on her. And with that thought, she realized that not once had she ever cared about that fact. And with that realization, she felt a twinge of resentment. She was changing, and it only seemed to burn an uncontrollable anger through her veins as it progressed. She hated feeling so unstable, and with that new feeling beginning to occur once again, she clenched her hands into fists.

"Get out."

Ty Lee looked towards her friend, a rush of sadness hitting her insides as she knew it wasn't just a burst of temperamental words. It held a sense of bitterness and frustration that ran too deep for Ty Lee to be able to do anything about; she knew that.

"Get out, Ty Lee," Azula repeated again, her voice becoming hard.

Ty Lee looked down and softly closed her eyes for a moment, then looked back towards Azula, her look altogether broken. "Okay," she said in a barely audible whisper. With that, she rose lightly to her feet and walked towards the door. She turned and looked at her friend one last time. Azula continued to glare away from her. Ty Lee frowned, then shut the door softly behind her, leaving the princess alone.

Azula stood where she was still, not moving even as her friend had left her now. She couldn't tear her eyes away from their hard glare against the wall, and nor could she release her hands from their viselike grip. She felt so utterly angry, confused, frustrated, and above all; powerless.

Never once had she felt powerless. She felt there was nothing she could do. Every part of her knew that she had a duty to fulfill, and that had never bothered her. Until now. It seemed so absolutely absurd, but it caused a strong feeling of rage at the thought of losing her mother, especially at her own hands. Throughout the years, she had honestly believed that she would never see Ursa again. Now that she had, and now that she was here, with her, it actually had made a difference that Azula had never thought possible.

There was no way however, that Azula could do anything for her mother without changing everything of inside her that made her who she was. The Princess of the Fire Nation would fulfill her duties to the very end, without a moment of hesitation. She would be ruthless, fearless, and powerful in everything she did. Nothing would ever stop her, and in the end, she would become a figure in history that people would surely never forget. Azula knew she wouldn't be that person anymore if she helped her mother somehow. She didn't even know if she could be that person anymore.

She scrunched her eyes shut at the thought.

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Azula spoke to no one for the next few days, and hardly ever left her chambers if not necessary. Ty Lee had known better than to try and talk to her friend again, and decided it was better to stay clear. They had finally reached the Fire Nation capital that afternoon, and the atmosphere had noticeably changed from that point on.

Azula stepped down the boarding ramp, her guards following faithfully behind. She now held a different air, being in her own home again. She kept her walk strong and powerful, with each step giving her that defining quality of self-assurance that had so often portrayed the very core of her nature. Her eyes remained impassive, never looking aside from the path in front of her. She had ignored the servants awaiting her arrival, and strode past, leaving them useless with an empty throne to carry.

She moved deliberately through the buildings, soon arriving at her desired destination. Without needing to request, the gates to the palace were opened, and she continued to walk, her step never breaking. She walked through the halls, her manner professional and composed.

Coming to a stop, she stood in front of two high standing guards placed on either side of the entrance to the throne chambers. She looked towards one, knowing she would not have to say anything in terms of requesting entrance.

"The Fire Lord is waiting, Princess," The guard bowed his head, stepping aside, allowing Azula passage.

Azula didn't acknowledge the man as she strode past. Her guards followed behind, including Ty Lee, who now became visibly anxious. Azula moved forward, her confidence never straying as she knew where to go. Reaching the center, she smoothly stopped, then knelt down on one knee, bowing her head deeply before her.

"My Lord," she addressed.

Ozai looked down at his daughter from his throne, his face stern. He watched her for a moment, smirking slightly as she remained loyally bowed, as he had not yet addressed her himself.

"Azula," He said calmly.

Without pausing, Azula rose to her feet, her movement flawless. Ozai kept his smirk, seeing his daughter before him now. He had always taken a sort of pride towards his daughter for her ceaseless ability regarding composure. She stood with power and confidence, and everything else he had ever taught her to portray.

"I see you are no longer a prisoner of war. Though that does not surprise me," He said confidently.

"No, Father. A temporary inconvenience," Azula replied methodically.

Ozai nodded slightly in agreement before continuing, his voice now holding a sense of intimidation. "I see. And am I to understand there is of some importance that you are here now, if it is not to present the Avatar, like I asked."

Azula remained calm, her face never expressing the slightest note of concern.

"Yes, Father. I have brought my captors back with me, as I'm sure at least one of them will be of… some interest to you." She finally looked away from her father, then stood still for a moment. Her jaw tightened as she nodded to the guards waiting at the entrance. She saw Ty Lee out of the corner of her become extremely tense, and couldn't help but feel a twinge of anxiety herself.

She watched as the guards entered, first with a few men that were hardly noteworthy. Then with a struggling and furious Sokka, at who's entrance caused Azula's eyes to shift slightly, her shoulders becoming tense.

Then entered a guard with Ursa, where Azula finally turned her face away, her body becoming rigid. She glared away, and saw through the shadows on the wall from the burning fire, the Fire Lord rise to a standing position.

**AN: First things first, I'm going to say that I'm sorry for the slow chapter, it's really just a filler, and a place to insert Azula's and Sokka's thoughts. The next chapter will be so absolutely more interesting =) **

**Thank you for reading, reviews would very much be appreciated.  
**

**MJ**


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